{{short description|Series of bond ballot initiatives in King County, Washington}} [[File:Powell Barnett and others looking plans for Powell Barnett Park, 1970.jpg|thumb|right|Powell S. Barnett and three Seattle parks officials look over plans for Powell Barnett Park, one of many parks funded by the Forward Thrust bonds]] The '''Forward Thrust''' ballot initiatives were a series of bond propositions put to the voters of King County, Washington in 1968 and 1970, designed by a group called the '''Forward Thrust Committee'''. Seven of the twelve propositions in 1968 were successful; four of the remaining propositions were repackaged for a vote in 1970, when they were defeated in the darkening local economic climate of the Boeing Bust.<ref name=HL-1968>Patrick McRoberts, [http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=2168 King County voters on Forward Thrust bonds approve stadium and aquarium and nix transit on February 13, 1968], HistoryLink, January 1, 1999. Accessed online 19 July 2008.</ref><ref name=HL-1970>HistoryLink Staff, [http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=3961 Voters reject rail transit plan and three other Forward Thrust bond proposals on May 19, 1970], HistoryLink, September 19, 2002, corrected April 15, 2003. Accessed online 19 July 2008.</ref> One of the most visible accomplishments of the Forward Thrust levy was the eventual building of the Kingdome, ultimately the first home of the Seattle Seahawks and Seattle Mariners.
The initiatives were variously under the aegis of METRO (the Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle), King County, and the city of Seattle.<ref name=HL-1968 /> (METRO and King County merged in 1992.) The Forward Thrust Committee was founded by James R. Ellis<ref name=HL-1968 /> and effectively disbanded shortly after the 1970 defeats.<ref name=HL-1970 /> It disbanded formally in 1974.<ref>[http://www.lib.washington.edu/specialcoll/findaids/docs/papersrecords/ForwardThrustSeattleWash1707.xml Preliminary Guide to the Forward Thrust Records 1966-1970], University of Washington Library. Accessed online 19 July 2008.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Forward Thrust records - Archives West |url=https://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:80444/xv52255 |access-date=2022-07-02 |website=archiveswest.orbiscascade.org}}</ref> Seattle Mayor Dorm Braman was also a strong backer of the 1968 initiatives.<ref name=HL-1968 />
The US$118 million passed in 1968 in support of the Department of Parks and Recreation was, at the time, the largest parks and recreation bond issue ever passed in the United States.<ref>{{Citation | last =Jones | first =Nard | author-link =Nard Jones | year = 1972 | title =Seattle | place =Garden City, New York | publisher =Doubleday | isbn =0-385-01875-4 | page = 228 }}</ref>
The failure of the rapid transit propositions meant that a nearly $900 million federal funding earmark that had been secured by U.S. Senator Warren Magnuson if local bonds passed went instead to fund Atlanta, Georgia's MARTA.<ref name=HL-1970 />
==Results== The elections took place February 13, 1968,<ref name=HL-1968 /> and May 19, 1970.<ref name=HL-1970 /> Each initiative required a 60% supermajority to pass.<ref name=HL-1968 /><ref name=HL-1970 /> The results were as follows; bold typeface indicates successful propositions:
{|class=wikitable !Year !Initiative !US$ amount<br />(millions) !Yes !% Yes !No !% No !Result |- |1968 |METRO Proposition 1: Rapid Transit |$385M local +<br />$765M federal |97,339 |50.8% |94,187 |49.2% |Failed |- |1968 |METRO Proposition 2: Transit System Administration |N/A |Metro Council<br />75,808 |46.8% |New Commission<br />86,202 |53.2% |Voided by failure of Metro Prop. 1 |- |1968 |'''County Proposition 1: Youth Service Center''' |$6.1M |174,749 |72.4% |66,594 |27.6% |Passed |- |1968 |'''County Proposition 2: Multipurpose Stadium''' |$40M |151,489 |62.3% |91,499 |37.7% |Passed, resulted in the Kingdome |- |1968 |County Proposition 3: Community Centers |$26.2M |136,804 |58.7% |96,129 |41.3% |Failed |- |1968 |'''County Proposition 4: Arterial Highways''' |$81.6M |147,379 |62.2% |89,489 |37.8% |Passed |- |1968 |County Proposition 5: Storm Water Drainage |$68M |139,254 |59.3% |95,373 |40.7% |Failed |- |1968 |'''County Proposition 6: Parks & Recreation'''<br />(including Seattle Aquarium) |$118M |157,323 |64.7% |85,790 |35.3% |Passed |- |1968 |'''Seattle Proposition 1: Neighborhood Improvements''' |$12M |74,915 |60.8% |48,259 |39.2% |Passed |- |1968 |'''Seattle Proposition 2: Sewer Bonds''' |$70M |74,852 |62.6% |44,596 |37.4% |Passed |- |1968 |Seattle Proposition 3: Low Income Housing |$3M |69,089 |57.9% |50,057 |42.1% |Failed |- |1968 |'''Seattle Proposition 4: Fire Protection''' |$6.2M |82,867 |69.8% |35,758 |30.2% |Passed |- |1968 |Seattle Proposition 5: Maintenance Shops |$3M |66,061 |57.6% |48,555 |42.4% |Failed |- |1970 |(Rapid transit) |$440M local<br>$881M federal<ref>Estimated from somewhat confusing numbers in HistoryLink Staff, [http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=3961 Voters reject rail transit plan and three other Forward Thrust bond proposals on May 19, 1970], HistoryLink, September 19, 2002, corrected April 15, 2003. Accessed online 19 July 2008.</ref> | |46% | |54% |Failed |- |1970 |(Storm water control) |$80M | | | | |Failed |- |1970 |(New community centers) |$55.3| | | | | |Failed |- |1970 |(New county jails) |$40.2M | | | | |Failed |} Sources:<ref name=HL-1968 /><ref name=HL-1970 />
==See also== *King County Metro
==Notes== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.lib.washington.edu/specialcoll/findaids/docs/papersrecords/ForwardThrustSeattleWash1707.xml Preliminary Guide to the Forward Thrust Records 1966-1970], University of Washington Library ([https://web.archive.org/web/20190507172207/https://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/search/results.aspx?t=k&q=WAUForwardThrustSeattleWash1707.xml July 2019 archive.org snapshot]) * https://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv52255/op%3Dfstyle.aspx?t=k&q=WAUForwardThrustSeattleWash1707.xml — University of Washington archive (as of July 2022)
Category:History of Seattle Category:Transportation ballot measures in the United States Category:Washington (state) elections Category:1968 Washington (state) ballot measures Category:1970 Washington (state) ballot measures