PORT ANGELES — Rep. Lynn Kessler apologized Monday for overlooking the last-minute omission of a U.S. Highway 101 widening project between Port Angeles and Sequim from the state transportation budget.
Kessler spoke to the Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce at its weekly Monday luncheon at the Port Angeles CrabHouse, 211 N. Lincoln St.
“Please accept my public apology,” Kessler told the Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce at its weekly membership luncheon at the Port Angeles CrabHouse Restaurant.
She said she was apologizing for voting for the 16-year, $8.5 billion transportation plan that included $431 million in projects for Clallam and Jefferson counties — but excluded widening a 2.5-mile stretch of Highway 101 between Shore and Kitchen-Dick roads to four lanes.
Kessler, Rep. Jim Buck, R-Joyce, and Sen. Jim Hargrove, D-Hoquiam, represent the 24th District, which includes Clallam and Jefferson counties and part of Grays Harbor County.
Kessler said she initially voted against the transportation plan on Saturday, April 23, then changed her vote during the extraordinary Sunday session the next day.
The package includes a 9.5-cent gasoline tax increase over four years plus new weight fees on cars and passenger trucks, and higher driver’s license fees and tolls.
Second vote
After the budget was voted down on Saturday, Kessler used her position as House majority leader to introduce a motion for reconsideration of a revised transportation plan.
The transportation budget passed the House by a 54-43 vote on Sunday, just hours before the legislative session adjourned for 2005.
The House and Senate transportation committees were negotiating between Saturday and Sunday, and that’s when the $32 million Highway 101 widening project was removed, Kessler said Monday.