With upcoming elections, let’s remember who the bad guys are. TxDOT is just following orders. It’s the Governor, Legislature, County Commissioners (who petitioned to start the RMA tolling authority), and MPO who brought us toll proliferation WITHOUT A VOTE OF THE PEOPLE. So to make it perfectly clear who the good guys and bad guys are, here’s the list:
Bad Guys
It starts at the top…
- Governor Rick Perry
ALL STATE SENATORS and ALL but 19 STATE REPRESENTATIVES voted for massive toll tax increases (SB 792)!
Read more about this vote for the highest possible tolls by your State Representatives here.
The few GOOD GUYS in the TEXAS HOUSE who voted AGAINST SB 792 in the 80th Legislature are:
Nathan Macias (lead the charge)
David Leibowitz
Lon Burnam
Joaquin Castro
Garnet Coleman
Joe Farias
Jessica Farrar
Stephen Frost
Ana Hernandez
Jodie Laubenberg
Trey Martinez Fischer
Ruth McClendon
Sid Miller
Ken Paxton
Robert Puente
Joe Straus
Senfronia Thompson
Marc Veasey
Mike Villarreal
Notably absent from this list is San Antonio Representative Frank Corte whose district is under a FULL toll assault on both Hwy 281 and Loop 1604!
The San Antonio Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO)
On December 3, 2007, the MPO voted to approve the toll rates for the conversion of a FREEway into a tollway (on US 281) and to use an additional $112 million in ($325 million total) Texas Mobility Funds to toll 281 & 1604 (when they could use those funds to keep them FREEways)! Read more about it here.
MPO members who voted to increase your taxes on driving
Sheila McNeil,
Councilwoman, Dist. 2, called northsiders “those people” who can afford the tolls while taking thousands in campaign contributions from pro-toll interests like Zachry and Red McCombs
Diane Cibrian,
Councilwoman, Dist. 8, campaigned on lowering taxes but just voted FOR the largest tax increase in TX history! Today is the first day we enlist Jacob Dell to take her seat! Better yet, a RECALL!
Jack Leonhardt,
Windcrest Mayor, said he received 5,000 emails FOR and only a few hundred against (we confirmed that over 1,200 emails AGAINST were sent using our email alias)…so he lied!
Chico Rodriguez,
Bexar County Commissioner who has an opponent in the primary in March
William Weeper,
Claimed he received more emails in favor of tolls and was compelled to “do what the people want” and vote FOR a TAX INCREASE!
Joe Aceves,
county employee who did what pro-toll Judge Wolff told him to do even though 2 of the 3 commissioners on the MPO voted AGAINST and the county has twice passed a resolution AGAINST tolling existing freeways (which are smoke & mirrors and worthless apparently)
Two TxDOT votes (David Casteel & Clay Smith, one of the TxDOT employees seen walking into the Oct. 19 Valero meeting where the highway lobby strategized on how to win approval of the toll roads at today’s mtg)
Two Via Votes (Ruby Perez, who’s also chummy with Sheila McNeil, and Hank Brummet, who previously voted WITH us when he was on the MPO years ago…guess that proposed Park & Ride at Marshall Rd. was enough to co-opt them into voting FOR more highways against their own stated mission of mass transit)
Two City employees (one, Mark Webb, is the boss of a Via Board member Ruby Perez, and Jelynne Burley is the other)
The few heroic GOOD GUYS
Commissioner Tommy Adkisson (wait till you see his impassioned speech when we get it on YouTube, a true advocate of mass transit and simple solutions like contraflow lanes, etc.)
Commissioner Lyle Larson (noted the Legislature is just as guilty for raiding gas taxes)
Rep. David Leibowitz (he’s a fabulous litigator and got the RMA to admit to a non-compete and to tolling existing roads)
Senator Carlos Uresti (poked holes in the RMA’s numbers, logic, determined their plan doesn’t achieve congestion relief AT ALL for those who cannot afford tolls)