Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Editorial: McDonnell drops his transportation plan
The new governor won't tackle roads during the General Assembly session.
From the RoundTable blog
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On the campaign trail last fall, Gov. Bob McDonnell promised Virginians he had a plan to fix the state's broken transportation system.
In 19 pages, he detailed how he would fund highways, rail and other improvements without raising taxes. Now, when it is time to put his plan into action, he punts.
Last week, he announced he would not pursue transportation reform during the General Assembly session. He said lawmakers would not have enough time to evaluate his plan, and he would not have enough time to sell it.
No offense intended, but the plan is not very hard to evaluate. It is loaded with the same gimmicks Republicans have talked about for years. Everyone is familiar with them.
And everyone who turned a thoughtful eye on the plan during the campaign knew it would never work as McDonnell said. Royalties from offshore drilling remain a distant fantasy, for example. If the Obama administration approved drilling tomorrow, it would be years before any money appeared.
Nevertheless, his plan contained many ideas voters trusted him to pursue. Nothing prevents him from floating a few before lawmakers. Introduce bills to privatize Alcoholic Beverage Control stores, start the process to put tollbooths on Interstates 95 and 85, and set up new bonding.
None would solve the transportation mess, of course, but this is what he sold to voters.
He could at least try to deliver and make transportation funding the priority he claimed it was.
Instead, McDonnell says he might call a special session of the assembly later in the year. First he wants to spend time working with lawmakers and using the persuasive powers of his office to find a deal that all sides can agree to.
If that sounds eerily familiar, it is. McDonnell's opponent, Creigh Deeds, said that was what he wanted to do. McDonnell dismissed it as no plan at all then.
Now that he is safely in office, he has either come to his senses or started being honest with the public.
