Last night at the Suburban Cities Association dinner in Tukwila, Susan Hutchison, the former KIRO TV anchor who captured the most votes in the primary for King County Executive, agreed with her rival Dow Constantine that Initiative 1033 is simply unaffordable for Washington State.

Asked, “If Initiative 1033 is approved by the voters, what do you believe will be the impact on plans for annexations and growth in King County?”, Hutchison replied (in part):

“I’m not quite sure it’s… it’s on the radar of our voters… yet. But… it’s certainly on the radar of all of you, and the mayors I’ve talked to. […] if it passes, it would be a disaster… for King County and all of our cities throughout the state.”

This is Hutchison’s strongest stand against Initiative 1033 to date. In June, she told the Northwest Progressive Institute she had no opinion on I-1033; she later admitted to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer she was planning on voting no.

Hutchison added that she thinks it makes more sense for government to place surplus revenue into a rainy day fund in good times. Under Initiative 1033, this would not be possible. Initiative 1033 is a giant freeze on services that prevents the state, cities, and counties from investing in services above what was invested the previous year, with a lame and pathetic amount of padding to supposedly account for inflation and population growth. Initiative 1033’s services freeze would trap our state in a permanent recession, destroying any chance of recovery in the near future.