IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Toll Party requests Attorney General investigation for election crimes
Castro campaign tried to intimidate & suppress the anti-toll vote

San Antonio, TX, October 16, 2006– Today concerned citizens through San Antonio Toll Party.com sent a letter of request to the Secretary of State’s office to ask for the Attorney General to investigate possible election crimes in the District 125 State representative race. A paid campaign worker, Leticia Cantu, of State Representative Joaquin Castro was caught on tape (just after midnight on October 12) vandalizing and destroying a mock “toll booth” used by the Nelson Balido campaign and San Antonio Toll Party.com in a press conference where the Toll Party endorsed Balido over Castro and used the toll booth to demonstrate Castro’s record of voting for tolls that are now the top issue in his district.

“Clearly, the Castro campaign tried to suppress and intimidate those opposed to tolls on Bandera Rd. in his district. It’s a shame he stooped to violence and sought to intimidate those against the toll policies he voted for multiple times,” said Terri Hall, Regional Director of San Antonio Toll Party.com. “This is beneath a sitting legislator and shows utter desperation from Castro. His voting record that allowed tolls on Bandera Rd. and his contributions from toll road interests have become his biggest problem. Nelson Balido is clearly the best choice to lead District 125 and the candidate citizens can trust to fight against tolls on Bandera.”

Below is the text of the letter to the Secretary of State’s Elections Director:

Ann McGeehan
Director of Election Division
Texas Secretary of State
PO Box 12060
Austin, TX 78711

October 13, 2006

Dear Ms. McGeehan:

Our grassroots citizens group is reporting a violent act of voter intimidation and an obvious attempt to suppress the anti-toll turnout on November 7 in a hotly contested race for State Representative District 125 in San Antonio. Incumbent Joaquin Castro’s paid campaign worker, Leticia Cantu, destroyed a mock “toll booth” constructed by the challenger Nelson Balido’s campaign. Our group had just used the “toll booth,” Wednesday, October 11 at 12 noon in a well-publicized press conference in the parking lot of Bandera Dental announcing our support of Nelson Balido as the authentic anti-toll candidate in this race.

Shortly after the stroke of midnight that night (technically, early morning October 12), Joaquin Castro’s paid campaign worker, Ms. Cantu, pulled into the parking lot of Bandera Dental (private property) at 8428 Bandera Rd. in San Antonio where the booth had been left for the night, and knocked over the “toll booth” cracking it (thus destroying it), and then took the “arm” (the part that goes up and down allowing cars to enter a tollway) of the “toll booth” and broke it over her knee, threw it into her personal vehicle (stealing part of it), and drove away. This was caught on videotape by Balido’s campaign (see it here: see it here) including the license plate of the vehicle registered to a paid worker with Castro’s campaign. This videotape and news story has subsequently been the top story for every tv and radio station in San Antonio since. Her identity has been confirmed, and her connection to the Castro campaign has also been confirmed by media outlets (and submitted to police) as well as by Castro’s campaign ethics reports that show she’s a paid staffer.

A police report has been filed with local law enforcement. We’re asking on behalf of citizens that your office ask the Attorney General to investigate this incident that reaches beyond vandalism and theft to voter intimidation and an attempt to suppress voters who are against the planned tollway on Bandera Rd. It’s obvious that the campaign of this sitting State Representative was sending a message to those opposed to tolls by destroying a prop used to communicate State Representative Castro’s support of tolls against the supermajority of constituents in his district.
We look forward to your help with this matter. Please contact me at (210) 275-0640 or at terri@satollparty.com to inform the citizens of when the investigation is handed over to the Attorney General for a formal investigation and subsequent criminal charges filed for illegal attempts to influence the outcome of an election.

Sincerely,

Terri Hall
Regional Director
San Antonio Toll Party

See Castro’s campaign worker vandalizing a mock “toll booth” in an attempt to intimidate and suppress anti-toll voters here.

After weeks of costly vandalism to his campaign signs and other materials, Nelson Balido, candidate for Dist. 125 State Representative says enough is enough. The latest incident was captured on videotape, and police are now investigating.

On Thursday, October 12th at 12:01 am, a woman was videotaped vandalizing a mock “toll booth” and stealing signage erected by Nelson Balido, candidate for the Dist. 125 state representative seat. A police report was filed with San Antonio Police (case # 06-846027).

The woman “caught in the act” of vandalizing Balido property was driving a Mitsubishi Montero that is registered to Leticia Montoya Cantu, a paid worker and supporter of Balido’s opponent, Joaquin Castro. Ms. Cantu also served as a paid political consultant for Castro’s twin brother, Julian Castro, in his failed run for San Antonio mayor. Ms. Cantu is also an administrative assistant for City Councilwoman Delecia Herrera (District 6).

“This isn’t the first incident we’ve experienced,” Balido said. “For weeks we’ve found our signs shredded and destroyed. Some of our supporters have reported having their “Balido” signs replaced in their front yards with “Castro” signs. We’ve asked the Castro camp to stop the dirty politics, but our requests have fallen on deaf ears. We finally set up video surveillance to see if we could catch the culprits, and within 30 minutes it happened again. The video tells it all.”

Link to article here.

It’s fascinating to me to watch politicians run from their voting records. For Joaquin Castro to say he’s consistently been against tolling existing roads is a joke. He voted for it then voted against the final bill. From what we can discern, the only difference in the bills he voted for and against was some authority was taken from the Railroad Commission and given to TxDOT. He clearly voted FOR the provisions that allowed the tolling of existing roads. Nice try to say it’s state legislation and that he didn’t know that would mean tolls on Bandera Rd. All of this is being handed down from on high by the state, so EVERY road in Texas is fair game.

Castro knows it since the Transportation Commission passed a Minute Order in 2003 that put all Texas roads on the table for tolls. You don’t open the floodgates to tolling Texas and then regret it when it hits your district. They let the monster out of the cage and these incumbents are running for cover to try and rein in an out of control agency (TxDOT) doing the bidding of the highway lobby. Too little too late.
Toll road critics blast Rep. Castro, endorse Balido
By Greg Jefferson
San Antonio Express-News
10/12/2006

The San Antonio Toll Party on Wednesday targeted state Rep. Joaquín Castro, accusing the two-term incumbent of siding with the “toll lobby.”

The toll critics endorsed his main challenger, Republican Nelson Balido, in the race for Texas House District 125.

The group cited six bills that the San Antonio Democrat voted for in 2003 and 2005 that it said would pave the way for toll projects — though none of them specified toll projects in San Antonio.

“He’s not representing his constituents,” said Terri Hall, regional director of the San Antonio Toll Party. “The Legislature, including Joaquín Castro, turned a deaf ear to the fierce opposition to toll road policies.”

But Castro says he has consistently opposed the tolling of any existing roadway, including Bandera Road — the only such project proposed for his district, which takes in portions of the West and Northwest sides. State and local officials are studying the possibility of adding toll lanes to Bandera Road.

“They’re talking about statewide policy,” Castro said. “There was never any indication that (officials) would propose a toll project for Bandera.”

Despite the organization’s support for Balido, Castro said: “I probably agree with them on 95 percent of the issues and he probably agrees with them on 95 percent.”

Libertarian Jeffrey C. Blunt also is competing in District 125.

Balido, who lost to Castro in 2002 when the legislative seat was open, opposes the proposed building of toll lanes over Bandera — a major, congested commercial thoroughfare passing through Leon Valley — and said he expects it to be a major issue in the election.

“I have block-walked thousands and thousands of homes, and I have not met a single person who supports toll roads,” Balido said. “This is something that may get people to vote as much as they do in a presidential election.”

The San Antonio Toll Party also endorsed: Democrat Joe Farias in Texas House District 118; Democratic incumbent David Leibowitz in Texas House District 117; Republican Nathan Macias in Texas House District 73; Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Adkisson, a Democrat; Democrat John Courage in Congressional District 21; Democrat David Van Os for state attorney general; and independent Carole Keeton Strayhorn for governor.

A Leininger guy?
The same day Balido won the praise of Terri Hall, Castro chided him for his fundraising.

According to his latest campaign finance report, Balido brought in $68,000 between July 1 and Sept. 30, with the biggest amount — $25,000 — coming from San Antonio businessman James Leininger, a staunch advocate for school vouchers and a major contributor to pro-voucher candidates. His brother, Peter Leininger, gave $7,000 to Balido’s campaign.

“It’s clear that Nelson Balido is a Leininger guy,” Castro said.

Critics of school voucher programs say they would bleed funding from public schools by redirecting tax dollars to private institutions.

Balido said he hadn’t discussed school vouchers with Leininger. But he said he’d consider such a program to allow parents to remove their children from schools that consistently perform poorly.

“I think that is one alternative,” Balido said. “I think it’s very much a possibility for schools that can’t get their act together.”

Also among Balido’s contributions: $10,000 from Houston homebuilder Bob Perry, one of the state’s biggest GOP donors.

For his part, Castro raised $35,215 in the same reporting period. But he ended it with $34,500 in the bank, compared with Balido’s $21,600.

Link to article here.

Conservatives on the March for Private Property
By Phyllis Schlafly
Texas Insider
Monday, October 2, 2006

Grass-roots conservatives are again asserting themselves forcefully and effectively against governmental impudence. Having defeated President George W. Bush’s nomination of Harriet Miers to the U.S. Supreme Court and the Dubai Ports sellout, conservatives are now flexing their muscles against supremacist judges and money-grasping public officials.

It is remarkable how the 2005 Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision in Kelo v. City of New London, Conn., has riled normally apathetic Americans and motivated them into asserting people power over the twin powers of government and money.

Thirty state legislatures have passed laws or constitutional amendments to limit the effect of the Kelo ruling and provide protection against abusive seizures of private property for other private purposes.

In addition, 11 states will have ballot measures this year to protect private property rights. The issue carries double-barreled clout because the voters are both repudiating government seizures of private property AND repudiating the favorite liberal goal of increasing the flow of tax money into government’s clutches.

These slaps at local public officials and increased taxes also include a reprimand of the Supreme Court in the Kelo case, which has endangered the ownership of every home, business, church and farm. The justices thought they could evolve the U.S. Constitution’s words “public use,” which would include a highway or a public building, into the words “public purpose,” which is defined to include transferring private property of lower-income people to higher-income people who will pay higher taxes, and just about anything that comes under a redevelopment plan.

Neither the U.S. Constitution nor any other statute authorizes the use of eminent domain to seize private property in order to raise more money for government.

Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in dissent in the Kelo case: “Something has gone seriously awry with this court’s interpretation of the Constitution.”

The justices only get away with this sort of decision because law schools have propagated the myth that whatever the Supreme Court says is the law of the land. The question for the American people is: Are we a nation of self-government, or are we going to submit to rule by black-robed judges? Since the Kelo decision, more than 5,700 private properties have been threatened by or taken over by this power of eminent domain, a tremendous increase over the preceding five years. The Kelo decision made local officials and developers bolder and bolder in the taking of private property.

We don’t expect the Supreme Court always to defer to the legislative process.

We do expect the Court to implement the text of the Constitution as written, and that means defending our constitutional right to private property even when that requires knocking down a legislative action.

Some judges are getting the message. On July 26, 2006, the Ohio Supreme Court handed down a stunning unanimous decision against a $125 million development project in a Cincinnati suburb. This case, City of Norwood v. Horney, illustrates how abusive eminent domain seizures are motivated by local governments seeking new sources of revenue.

The city of Norwood had hoped to get $2 million a year in new taxes from the new property owners. The developer had already bulldozed every house on the site except three, including Joy Gamble’s home, where she had lived for 35 years, raised her children, and hoped to remain for the rest of her life. When the mayor of Norwood heard that the homeowners had won in the Ohio Supreme Court, he predicted that the city would run out of money by October, and it might actually have to lay off a government worker.

But the Ohio Supreme Court concluded that “economic benefits alone,” such as increased taxes, do not justify a taking of private property. The court stated that “Ohio has always considered the right of property to be a fundamental right,” and that property rights are “believed to be derived fundamentally from a higher authority and natural law.”

However, legislation is needed in most states to prevent government from ruining private property while a dispute is going on. By the time Gamble won her appeal, she had been barred from her property for a year and a half, during which time the utilities were disconnected and the property vandalized and looted.

State legislatures should be alert to draft their new laws against governmental abuse of eminent domain to make clear that condemning authorities may not take possession of property until appeals are exhausted and the property is paid for, and that blight is defined as a danger to public health and safety (not mere underutilization or diversity of ownership).

The Ohio Supreme Court’s decision underscores the fact that the U.S. Supreme Court is fallible and we have every right to criticize and work to overturn wrong decisions made by supremacist judges who think they can rewrite the U.S. Constitution.

San Antonio Toll Party Candidate EndorsementsNov. 7 General Election
(Print this out and bring it with you to the polls!)
Download a flyer to spread the word! Governor –

Carole Keeton Strayhorn

Attorney General –
David Van Os

US Congress Dist. 21 –

John Courage

Bexar Cty Com. –

Tommy Adkisson

State Rep., Dist. 125 –

Nelson Balido
State Rep., Dist. 117 –

David Leibowitz

State Rep., Dist. 118 –

Joe Farias

State Rep., Dist. 73 –

Nathan Macias

REPORT CARD

We list Good Guy or Bad Guy in clear-cut, contested races, and when the candidates had very similar positions, we assigned them a grade. The Good Guy list only records those candidates who submitted a completed questionnaire.

Good Guys/Gals:

Ag Com. – Hank Gilbert

Land Com. – Valinda Hathcox

US Senate –

Kay Bailey Hutchison – C (voted FOR highway bill, but tried to prohibit tolls on existing interstates)

Barbara Radnofsky – A

US Con. Dist. 21 – John Courage

US Con. Dist. 23 – Lukin Gilliland

St Senate Dist. 25 – Kathi Thomas

St. Senate Dist. 19 – Dick Bowen

St. Rep., Dist. 122 – Larry Stallings

St. Rep., Dist. 125 – Nelson Balido

Bad Guys:

Ag Com. – Todd Staples

RR Com. – Elizabeth Ames Jones

St. Senate, Dist. 25 – Jeff Wentworth

St. Senate, Dist. 19 – Carlos Uresti

St. Rep., Dist. 121 – Joe Straus

St. Rep., Dist. 122 – Frank Corte

St. Rep., Dist. 125 – Joaquin Castro

District Attorney – Susan Reed (done nothing about City’s illegal loan to tolling board, or their using public money to conduct a political poll)

Along with every other incumbent in the San Antonio delegation and just about every incumbent in the legislature statewide…
Didn’t respond to questionnaire:

Jerry Patterson

Lamar Smith (voted FOR highway bill, but voted to prevent tolling existing interstates)

Henry Bonilla

___________________________

PRESS RELEASE –

San Antonio Toll Party announces
candidate endorsements and
Good Guy/Bad Guy List

San Antonio, TX, October 9, 2006– Today, the grassroots, non-partisan San Antonio Toll Party announced their candidate endorsements and report card for the General Election November 7. Their endorsed candidates focus on some key races with the top of the ticket taking top priority.

“Carole Keeton Strayhorn can and will put a stop to this shady shift to backroom deals and the privatization of our public infrastructure, as well as put an end to this Governor’s penchant for handing control of our public highways to foreign companies,” says a confident Terri Hall, Regional Director of San Antonio Toll Party.com.“Ms. Strayhorn is the ONLY candidate with a viable non-toll transportation plan using existing right of way and existing funds (http://satollparty.com/post/?p=409). While the Governor and his Transportation Commission continue to mislead the public in saying there’s no money for road improvements requiring a new toll tax everywhere, the State’s Chief Financial Officer and the FACTS say otherwise,” Hall emphasized.

Another key race to knock out incumbent toller Joaquin Castro is the State Representative District 125 race who is in for the fight of his political career against strong challenger Nelson Balido.“Rep. Castro has unfortunately voted FOR virtually every piece of toll legislation and has taken and continues to take money from toll road interests. He tries to play both sides and has said ‘he’s keeping an open mind about tolls’ in one setting and then adamantly tries to declare to groups opposed to tolls that he’s anti-toll. The people of District 125 are smarter than political double speak and votes for sale. We wholeheartedly believe Mr. Balido is the right choice to represent the massive opposition to tolls on Bandera Rd. in his district,” declares Hall.

In the State Attorney General’s race, the San Antonio Toll Party has enjoyed support from challenger David Van Os.“There is no doubt that Mr. Van Os is committed to stopping the Trans Texas Corridor and urban toll road debacle. He sees the total disconnect between government and those they’re charged with representing. He’s a fighter and has filed sworn affidavits vowing to fulfill his promise to stop the privatizing and tolling of our public infrastructure. Along with a new Governor, one of the most powerful allies we could ask for is the Attorney General. Mr. Van Os is featured in a documentary film ‘Truth Be Tolled’ (www.truthbetolled.com) where his comments at TxDOT public meetings brilliantly codify everything that’s wrong with this Governor’s transportation policies and how we the PEOPLE can stop it,” notes Hall.

Two other longtime allies the Toll Party is pleased to endorse are State Representative David Leibowitz and Commissioner Tommy Adkisson. Both are featured in the film ‘Truth Be Tolled’ (www.truthbetolled.com) with Rep. Leibowitz revealing some telling thoughts about the corruption in Austin, the special interest chokehold on our government, and how TxDOT is operating in the “abacus age.”“Rep. Leibowitz is the only truly ‘clean’ representative in Austin on the toll issue. He’s never voted for ANY toll legislation and we know he’ll truly represent the PEOPLES’ interests in Austin in his next term. He’s not afraid to stand up to the lobbyists who corrupt the legislative process, and he knows how we can fix our transportation problems without tolls,” recounts Hall.

“Commissioner Adkisson is no doubt a tremendous hero in this fight standing with us against powerful special interests in San Antonio. His eyes have been opened to the foolishness of privatizing our public assets and handing public control over to foreign interests. He’s still waiting for TxDOT, the RMA or someone to assure him the toll money will stay in Bexar County. They haven’t, because they can’t. TxDOT’s marching orders are clear. They plan to hand over our public roadways to private, foreign interests in order to tap a new taxpayer vein in a diabolical revenue-sharing scheme with the State (not local government) to suck billions out of the Texas economy and send it overseas,” says Hall.

In a hotly contested open seat for State Rep. District 118, the Toll Party is endorsing Joe Farias over George Antuna.“Mr. Antuna is actively taking money from toll road interests while trying to convince voters he’s anti-toll. There’s no question what Mr. Zachry wants from his contributions to Antuna, and the constituents of District 118 need to know the truth and vote accordingly. Mr. Farias will fight against this shift to tolls untainted by toll road interests,” Hall reports. Nathan Macias knocked off the Toll Party’s first toller, State Rep. Carter Casteel, in District 73 in the primaries and they will stand with Macias in the General Election.

“We look forward to sending Mr. Macias to Austin to represent the PEOPLE in this toll fight. No matter the group, the talk in District 73 is tolls. He knows the government isn’t listening to his constituents, and it’s time for true representation in Austin, “ Hall states.

In another race for U.S. Congress District 21, the Toll Party is endorsing John Courage.

“Mr. Courage has gone out of his way to help the Toll Party fight tolls, even as a candidate. We’re confident he’ll represent the PEOPLE not special interests in Washington. Since President Bush and his former and new Transportation Secretary are clearly pushing the privatizing and tolling of our public infrastructure on the national level, Texans need aid in Congress as much as at home,” enumerates Hall.

Link to article here.

Mr. Richter called me a few days ago to own up to a major failure to cover a massive statewide grassroots event last weekend at the Alamo with more than one hundred people, including THE gubernatorial candidate supported by every single citizens group against DOUBLE TAX tolls and the Trans Texas Corridor statewide.

Decide for yourself if this is an apology or excuses. I named several papers around the state who have done a better job of covering the toll issue. I explained that, overall, the coverage has been scant, not in-depth enough, and seriously lacking hard-hitting investigative reporting. Simply having our name appear in a story doesn’t come close to reporting what’s really happening under the noses of Texans who are being treated to disparate soundbites, not the heart of the matter.

Most Texans are largely unaware of the stakes in the push for tolls. And those who are aware, are growing exponentially (thanks to the internet and a lot of hard work by grassroots ordinary citizens spreading the word), and they are highly motivated to take their state back from the chokehold of special interests. When 43 counties participate in a single statewide protest to this Governor’s toll road policies, that’s news. Our organization was not the only one who sent press releases. These events were widely publicized, heavily on talk radio as well. Bottom line, the “Hands Across the Corridor” event was newsworthy and massive, and the Express-News dropped the ball. That said, we look forward to greater in-depth coverage.

Bob Richter: Despite missing protest, paper diligently covers toll road issue
San Antonio Express-News
10/07/2006

On Sept. 30, about 100 people carrying protest signs and handfuls of dirt rallied at the Alamo to protest Gov. Rick Perry’s massive toll road plan.

Perry’s feisty challenger, Carole Keeton Strayhorn, spoke at the event, which was not covered by the Express-News.

Our no-show wasn’t a judgment call. A reporter who was notified about the rally simply did not pass the information on to editors who decide what to cover and who will cover it.

It was a flub, primarily by the Express-News, but also by the organizer, the San Antonio Toll Party, which needs to be more effusive in its notification process.

That notwithstanding, the paper wasn’t there, and last week Editor Robert Rivard and the hierarchy here heard about it.

“You cover garbage and sweep the important things under the rug,” wrote John Hutson in an e-mail to Rivard. “How much are you being paid to not report opposition to toll roads?”

“It isn’t your place to suppress the news but to report it,” wrote Robert McKechnie.

Snowed by more than 50 e-mails, most of them harsh and sarcastic, Rivard responded:

“We missed an event which was staged with little notice to the newspaper, which is no excuse, since one of our reporters did know about it and failed to alert editors.

“What is disturbing is how quickly some of the anti-toll road forces have galvanized to conduct a somewhat shrill spam campaign against the newspaper, asserting that we have failed to cover the issue or that our coverage is guided by some pro-toll road agenda.

“That’s simply not the case. We’ve covered the issue aggressively and in far greater depth than any other media.”

Let’s check the record.

Since the first story on Perry’s ambitious Trans-Texas Corridor was published, on Jan. 29, 2002, the Express-News has published 101 mentions of it.

That includes 15 Page 1 stories, 17 on the Metro front, four on the business front and 17 on the editorial-commentary pages.

Meanwhile, since its first mention in the Express-News on Aug. 14, 2005, the San Antonio Toll Party has received 32 mentions, including four Metro front stories and three pieces in editorial-commentary.

There’s no shame in that. That is a worthy record. Plus E-N transportation writer Patrick Driscoll is an active blogger on these topics (for those who fancy blogging).

Despite that, Terri Hall, the regional director of the Toll Party, gives the Express-News a C on its toll road coverage.

“There is massive, massive opposition. It’s just not getting covered,” Hall contends. As for the Alamo rally, she adds: “With people saying there is no opposition, well there it was. It showed up. And you didn’t cover it.”

Laura Dylla told me via an e-mail that some protesters “brought handfuls of their home-place dirt to tell Governor Perry that this was all the ground they were going to get from them without a fight.”

She asked, quite civilly, why we didn’t cover the Alamo rally. Here is what I told her:

Because there is always a potential for human error when groups are having an event … it is good to speak with media people multiple times, ensuring someone will be there, giving them good numbers to reach organizers … but don’t assume that one phone call or news release will do.

There is a lot of information coming into this place. It isn’t out of the question — as our slip-up Saturday proved — for things to get misplaced.

The Trans-Texas Corridor is a 50-year, 4,000-mile, hundreds-of-billions-of-dollars plan. Its quarter-mile-wide pathways will greatly alter the Texas landscape. It will turn over thousands of acres of private property to private road builders. It is not to be taken lightly, and more information is needed.

Toward that end, the Express-News will continue to probe, but it may not cover every event that showcases anger (or glee) or some politician.

Whether you’re for toll roads, against them, or just curious, education is a noble goal — for journalists and for all Texans. This issue needs more light, less manure and less darkness.

Link to article here.

Filmmaker captures toll road opposition
By Patrick Driscoll
Express-News
October 6, 2006

The more William Molina heard about toll road plans, the more outraged he got, until finally he picked up his camera and did what he does best.

Molina spent the past several months shooting more than 40 hours of footage at public meetings in San Antonio and nearby towns, talked to activists, tried to talk to toll road advocates and spliced together a film documenting what he says is a nexus of tremendous change.

“I just wanted to capture history,” the veteran filmmaker said. “One day we’re going to look back at this and say, how did this happen.”

“Truth Be Tolled,” which debuted last week and is available for free showings, offers Molina’s take on why this is happening, but mostly it’s a series of people from all walks of life, shown up close to reveal every twitch of emotion as they voice fear, anger and confusion.

“The most powerful thing about the film were the individual voices,” said Char Miller, director of urban studies at Trinity University, who sponsored a screening there Thursday.

The documentary, about and hour and 45 minutes long, treads quickly through massive state tolling laws passed in recent years, the new policies to toll every new highway lane possible with the help of private companies that would reap profits in return.

Now toll roads are planned in cities around Texas, including more than 70 miles in San Antonio. And work is under way to develop the Trans-Texas Corridor, a 4,000-mile network of toll lanes, railways and utility lines in swaths up to a quarter-mile wide through rural areas.

State officials say that to solve traffic congestion it’s better to use tolls rather than raise gas taxes to build more roads and complete them faster.

In the film, activists and elected officials bucking the shift to tolling said government has simply figured out a way to squeeze lots of money out of motorists, and they point out that traffic congestion is needed on free roads to make tollways profitable.

In public meetings throughout the state this summer, most speakers opposed toll plans.

“These are real people dealing with real issues, and the film just carries out their voices,” Molina said.

Molina, a Trinity University graduate who spent 15 years shooting movies and television shows in Hollywood and has done films for the Discovery and History channels, said he tried to interview officials with several agencies as well as elected leaders who favor tolls.

None agreed, he said.

“From what he was giving me, he already had his answers,” Texas Department of Transportation spokeswoman Gaby Garcia explained. “He wasn’t going to have a fair discussion or a balanced discussion on the issues.”

Trinity students Fletcher Rhoads and Emily Bower said the film tweaked their interest.

“It was more emotionally driven,” Bower said.

“Which is fine,” Rhoads said.

“But,” Bower added, “I feel like I need to do research on my own to form my own opinion.”

To find out more about the documentary and where it’s being shown, go to the Web at www.TruthBeTolled.com.