Annexation of Newcastle: "Never"

It's hard to believe that someone who was just elected to the Newcastle City Council last year, reportedly voted in favor of "discussion" about making Newcastle a part of Bellevue, but that's what the Newcastle News reported that Gordon Bissett did.  It would be interesting to know if Bisset would have been elected in '11 if he had made "discussion" of annexation a part of his election platform then.  I doubt it. Councilman Bill Erxleben, who started this whole kerfuffle about the annexation of Newcastle at the September 4th council meeting (which I unfortunately missed), also voted for "discussion" about annexation, of course.  The majority, the other five councilmembers, to their credit, voted against it, although some of them, according to the News report, seemed a little wobbly about keeping Newcastle as it own city.  At least, Erxleben made sure that this issue will be front and center in next year's council elections for 3 council seats in which Erxleben, himself, is up for re-election in one of them.  I'm not sure what historical analogy this would be comparable to or somewhat comparable to if there were any real moves by the council on this issue; perhaps, Hawaii becoming a territory of the United States in the late 19th century, but I don't believe there was a plebiscite by the natives of Hawaii for approval of annexation as would probably occur in this case if this issue was escalated, although I'm not sure at this time whether the Washington Constitution demands plebiscites for annexation.  I will answer that question in a future essay on Northern Pacific Report, but I also welcome comments on this blog about pertinent information or your opinions about local and national matters.

I am against annexation to any city, and my opposition to annexation is not the least bit uncertain.  As far as I'm concerned, Newcastle should always remain Newcastle, period.  I read Erxleben's explanatory letter about annexation in the News (in the same October 4th - 5th issue that the report about it came out), however, believe it or not, everything about life is not about money, and as far as I'm concerned, money doesn't take precedence over certain principles.  Moreover, just like practically any city in the nation these days, Newcastle has financial problems, and we will manage to get through them one way or the other.  Ever since I ran for the council in '07, I have proposed expanding businesses in Newcastle by proposing that the city become a center of clean, renewable and green energy production, which would in turn expand the retail market and the overall tax base, thereby greatly enhancing Newcastle's revenue outlook.  Even if this plan doesn't happen, there are other ways to keep the city financially afloat without surrendering to the money god.  Bellevue is a great city, and the residents there have been of critical importance in making sure that my petitions succeed, but that doesn't mean that Newcastle should be annexed to them.  I will never support annexation under any circumstances whatsoever.

- by Mark Greene

[revised on 10/14/12]

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