Fancy this: the candidates for Virginia Governor, having heard from voters that they rate transportation right up there with education as a problem, are coming up with ?solutions.? Obviously, that's what we'd more or less expect politicians to do. However, some "solutions" are better than others. Take a look at what Jerry Kilgore and Tim Kaine are proposing, then you decide which one you like better!JERRY KILGORE: On his web site, after attacking Kaine as ?liberal? (without defining the term, of course), and labeling himself as ?conservative,? (again, we?re not sure what he means by this exactly), Kilgore says he will:
1) Veto any budget that raids the transportation trust fund prior to passage of an amendment locking up the fund;
2) Make transportation a ?priority? in the future budget;
3) Give "regions" (not sure how they're defined) power to set their own priorities and to raise additional funds. I guess that means primarily a regional taxing system, but it?s not clear;
4) Support use of tolls, always a favorite with the well-heeled driver, but not necessarily with truckers, lower-income commuters, and tourists;
5) Work with private companies to construct and maintain the roads - another favorite of Republican-leaning contractors; and
6) Support what Kilgore calls ?abuser fees? on the worst driving offenders, which according to him ?could? raise $100 million per year (he clearly thinks Virginians are lousy drivers? he may be right, but he has to catch them first. Where?s a cop when you need one?)
Now, this may all sound reasonable at first blush. However, Kilgore has also said he would take money from the General Fund to tackle transportation. This raises major warning flags, although it does offer a quick-fix pander to impatient voters. The bottom line is that Jerry will raid that vaunted Warner-Kaine-Chichester surplus, taking money out of the General Fund instead of the designated Transportation Fund. This, of course, would slash funds for other priorities normally funded out of the General Fund, like, say schools and education. In other words, in Jerry's World, cars trump people, including the young people who are the future of Virginia.
Sure, we're all besotted with our vehicles, but to the extent that we are willing to short-change our kids? Perhaps, if you are fundamentally AGAINST public education like Jerry Kilgore, then the answer is ?yes.? However, it?s hard to imagine a more short-sighted approach. Frankly, this state has lots of priorities and something will have to suffer in Jerry's World: Chesapeake Bay clean-up, Virginia's vaunted education system, police, and homeland security requirements. Given Mr. Kilgore?s limited administrative experience, I do not see how we can trust his prioritization skills in these matters.
By the way, I have some problems with ?regional? solutions to our traffic coagulation. How do you define a region? Did we not try a regional system in the recent gas tax referenda for both Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads? It didn?t work, primarily because the voters concluded that Richmond would not give us our own money back, but would simply spend it elsewhere. And just how would all this be administered? On an ad hoc basis? Even with bureaucratically defined regions I foresee a resulting confusing mess of uncoordinated transportation planning, a recipe in my opinion for endless mismatching and roads to nowhere, and a squandering of resources. And, from the ?no-tax? Kilgore, it?s an obvious ploy to shove taxing decisions off on someone else?s shoulders.
As for turning to private enterprise and toll roads, I would say all options have to be on the table, but I really don?t want to return completely to the days of the local barons with their chains across ?their? roads stifling commerce and reaping unaudited profits everywhere you turn. This one would have to be very very carefully undertaken, and
given the Republican record of cronyism and no-bid contracts (like Halliburton in Iraq), I feel more than a little cautious here.
Mostly, Jerry Kilgore?s transportation platform offers a series of seeming goodies whose feasability and costs are shaky at best, and which seem primarily designed to garner votes, rather than actually to be implemented. In Jerry's World, in other words, it's "Abracadabra, here comes Santa Claus, and we?ll pay the piper tomorrow." Or our children will.
TIM KAINE: On his web site Kaine says he will:
1) Lock up the Transportation Fund so its money cannot be cannibalized and used for other purposes. Kaine was the first one to bring this up, and Kilgore piggy-backed on the idea since it was so popular. This would require a Constitutional amendment, for which we'll need strong leadership in working with the General Assembly. And Tim Kaine has had exactly that kind of experience in helping achieve the Warner-Kaine budget reform package. What kind of experience does Jerry Kilgore have in getting things done?;
2) Promise to VETO any budget that tries to raid the Transportation Fund. Once again, Kilgore stole...er, piggy-backed on this idea;
3) ?Integrate transportation programs with land use planning? to bring coherence instead of always playing catch-up, WHILE PROTECTING THE RIGHTS OF PRIVATE PROPERTY. This bothers some people, who immediately imagine the government restricting their rights to do as they damn well please with their own land. Well, putting your pig farm up against my back yard might have been okay when we had a population of less than one per square mile. Today, however, we require zoning and building codes for public health and safety. In addition, people want a say in how much their taxes are going to go up to provide schools and sewage plants for new neighbors. Finally, it is much less expensive and much less aggravating to think ahead more than one move (see President Bush and Iraq. Michael Brown and disaster planning at FEMA).
4) Do whatever it takes to improve Virginia?s train service for commuters, travelers, and freight, and encourage coordination for different modes of transportation. This is part of a real solution to road congestion that has never crossed Jerry Kilgore?s mind, and it is a really good one. Can you imagine commuter rail between Richmond and Northern Virginia? Reducing the number of eighteen-wheelers hogging I-81 or I-95?
5) Take responsibility for transportation and not pawn it off onto localities (aka, ?regions?). As mentioned above, we?ve been there, done that. It didn?t work then, and it's a stupid idea now, obviously developed by someone with an aversion to leadership... or an inability to lead and plan ahead, like Jerry Kilgore.
In short, Tim Kaine regards transportation as a state-wide problem that requires strong leadership by the Governor to get things moving. Tim Kaine knows that an improved transportation system will benefit the entire state. Jerry Kilgore?s approach, in contrast, is to Balkanize the state (ironically, penalizing his own under-developed part of the state the most). Kilgore will duck responsibility as he always does, encouraging Government by Devolution with his dependence on expensive local referenda, planning, and taxation. In contrast, Tim Kaine will accept the responsibilities of leadership on a state-wide basis.
The bottom line is that if you want an expensive waste of time and Abracadabra traffic tricks, go with Jerry Kilgore. If you want real solutions to transportation problems, go with Tim Kaine. Think about it.