The political sparring has begun in the Gubernatorial race, and Chris Bell, in an effort to get noticed outside Houston, is taking pot shots at Grandma.
Strayhorn on toll roads and the Trans Texas Corridor:
Yes, Strayhorn has taken money from Zachry in the past, it’s no secret, it’s on our web site. Yes, she has stated, in the past, she thinks toll roads are a possible new source of transportation funding. However, that was for traditional toll roads, like Houston and Dallas that were completely new roads, the money stayed local, and the PEOPLE got to vote on bringing those projects to their cities. Once Perry and TxDOT’s version of tolling existing roads and handing our public infrastructure over to foreign companies became known, she not only didn’t support the idea, she’s been fighting to stop it alongside grassroots citizens ever since (more here). She’s also not taken money from Zachry since.
The Toll Party is not opposed to traditional toll roads either, when they’re completely NEW roads, the PEOPLE get to vote, the money stays local, the PUBLIC, not private foreign companies manage it, they don’t use gas taxes or other public funds or bonds creating DOUBLE TAXATION, and where there are no non-compete agreements that prevent the improvements and expansion of free lanes surrounding the toll roads.
She’s also been a stalwart advocate to wipe the Trans Texas Corridor off the books, and she promotes the only long-term solution to STOPPING this train wreck which is political reform through statewide initiative referendum. She wants to let the PEOPLE vote on this, unlike Perry and Bell. She is the ONLY Gubernatorial candidate who has attended the TTC hearings (more than a dozen). Where was Bell (or Kinky for that matter)? It’s real easy to jump on the bandwagon when candidates see a HUGE voting block that’s against Perry. All of them are vying for the “anti-toll,” “anti-corridor” vote, but we’re unashamed and wholeheartedly uniting behind the candidate who vows to give us a VOTE, reform the system, abolish the TTC and the urban toll road debacle, and who has the BEST chance of beating Perry, and that’s One Tough Grandma, Carole Keeton Strayhorn!
Bell’s flip flops on Trans Texas Corridor:
Today, talk radio erroneously repeated Bell’s claim that he was the only candidate against the Trans Texas Corridor. Here are his own words in support of the corridor, unedited, just months ago in the Dallas Morning News:
This question was asked and answered in February of 2006 in Dallas Morning News Voter Guide.
Q.: Are you satisfied with current plans for funding high-speed rail as an integral component of the Trans-Texas corridor? Please explain.
A: I think high-speed rail has an important place in our state’s long-term transportation plans, and I will support efforts to speed up the timetable for introducing high-speed rail here in Texas. Texas should not have to wait until 2025 to begin real development on the rail component of the TTC.
link: www.vgt2004.org/a-dallas06/candidate-detail.go?id=3170238