Ridenbaugh Press/Northwest

Timothy Leavitt

Timothy Leavitt would call it an adaptation to reality. Many of his former supporters would call it breaking his word. Wonder what the voters will think when he’s up for re-election, in 2013, as mayor of Vancouver?

The change, however you define it, is dramatic. Last year Leavitt based his seemingly longshot campaign against veteran Mayor Royce Pollard on opposition to imposition of tolls on any rebuilt Interstate 5 bridge across the Columbia River. A lot of Vancouverites commute south (a disclaimer here: The writer’s sister periodically is one of them), more than the number of Portlanders who commute north. Leavitt’s outspoken irritation at the idea of tolling hit home and swept him in.

Tolling has a lot of support, though, among government officials and others who think hard about how to pay the billion-dollar costs of reconstruction.

Confronted with that, Leavitt last Friday unveiled his own approach, involving a complex system of tolling that could take in people who ride the Interstate anywhere near the bridge, even if they exit before crossing it. Reaction on that generally has yet to coalesce.

The immediate reaction in Vancouver to Leavitt’s 180 is a lot clearer.

Check out the comments at the Vancouver Columbian‘s web site after a story on Leavitt and his critics:

“Interesting that he was a single-issue candidate in most of his campaign materials, including his signs. Now he renegs on that.” “A man’s word is his bond. It appears to be one of many broken promises by “His Honor”. Some folks can’t be trusted and they only make promises to get elected and then work on the agenda given to them by their major contributors.” “Lets all remember this when he decides some day to run for another office, we can truthfully call him out as a LIAR.” “It’s not that we believed that Leavitt could stop tolls by himself, but we did believe that he would be a strong voice in opposition to tolls.” “Recall Leavitt the Liar.”

And so on.