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Other Columns by Paul M. Weyrich
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The Rail Transit That Could
By Paul M. Weyrich
November 15, 2004
When a President defies the odds and wins re-election the way Harry Truman did in 1948 and George W. Bush has done in 2004, and when that President in winning re-election increases his margins in both Houses of Congress, it is little wonder that other issues in the election received scant attention.
You would have to go back to 1936, in the middle of the Great Depression, to find a President who increased his majorities in winning a second term. That was FDR. If you are looking for a Republican who accomplished that feat, go back to 1924 and the President whom both Ronald Reagan and yours truly liked very much, Calvin Coolidge. He increased his majorities in winning re-election in 1924. Remember, he had only been in office for a little over a year as President. He assumed the office when Warren Harding died. George W. Bush served out his whole first term.
I digress. What I want to call to your attention is the support for mass transit which occurred from one end of the country to the other. There were 31 pro-transit propositions on the ballot November 2nd. Transit was victorious in 24.
Here in the Washington Area there were bond issues in both Arlington and Fairfax Counties of nearby Virginia to help METRO obtain new equipment, rehab older equipment and otherwise upgrade services. In Arlington, nary a word was spoken against the bond issue. It passed 70% to 30%. In Fairfax County, where I reside, a local taxpayers' group, aided by some state legislators, went full-tilt against the bond issue. It also passed 70% to 30%.
Voters no longer buy the proposition that transit is a waste of money. If anything, they want more of it.
This December METRO will open a three and a half mile extension to get within a mile of Fed Ex Field, home of the Washington Redskins.
The next project for METRO is to go all the way to Dulles Airport and perhaps beyond the West Falls Church Station on the Orange Line as well. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA), who was re-elected with 64% of the vote, will fight for federal funds above what is usually available for transit to build that line. The Federal Government owns the right of way to Dulles.
The biggest boost for transit came in Denver. There, voters passed FasTrack by the comfortable margin of 57%. It will add 119 miles of rail transit, both light rail and commuter rail, in addition to the 15 miles of light rail already operating and the 19 miles now under construction. In addition to the new rail lines, almost all of which will fan out from Union Station in Denver, there will be some busways and other transit improvements. Voters agreed to increase their sales taxes to help pay for this $4.7 billion project, all of which is supposed to be operating by 2012.
Twice before, Denver tried a massive transit referendum. Twice they failed. What is the difference now? First, proponents of FasTrack were much quicker to reply to their critics. Second, and perhaps most importantly, voters had a chance to see light rail in action. Thousands ride it daily back and forth from Littleton to Downtown. Thousands more take it to the ball parks and other amusement parks located along an alternate line to Downtown. President Bush carried the state of Colorado rather handily so this was not just a case of Democrats all voting for the system. It had appeal across the board.
Phoenix was another win for transit. In 2000 voters in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area voted for a 20-mile starter light rail line. It is now under construction. This year the State Legislature placed on the ballot a package of highway and bus improvements along with another 28 miles of light rail. Opponents concentrated on light rail, which was not as popular as the highway component of the measure that again required voters to increase their own taxes. The opponents' campaign didn't work. The measure passed with nearly 58% of the vote.
In 2000 voters in Austin turned down an ambitious light rail program. This time, the transit advocates did it right. They proposed a 38-mile starter commuter system, which likely will use multiple-unit diesel railcars similar to New Jersey Transit's River Line. This year voters approved the project overwhelmingly. The transit authority already owns the right-of-way, so chances are that system will be in operation soon.
In a non-binding referendum, voters in Miami Beach, by a margin of 55% to 45%, told their local authorities that they want a streetcar line to link Miami with Miami Beach. That margin is probably sufficient to end years of squabbling over the issue.
Not determined yet is whether Miami Beach will go the route of Tampa, Little Rock, New Orleans and Charlotte, all of which use retro-design Heritage streetcars, which look like they are from the 1920s. Tampa, Little Rock and Charlotte all use Heritage cars from GOMACO in Iowa. New Orleans built its own cars for use on both the River Front line and the restoration of streetcars on Canal St., with a branch to City Park. Miami Beach might instead go the route of Portland, OR and Tacoma, WA, both of which use sleek, modern articulated streetcars built in the Czech Republic.
Only around the San Francisco Bay Area did transit take something of a hit. Some propositions to aid existing systems were approved by over two-thirds of the votes required. However, other transit bond initiatives did not get the two-thirds vote required. In fact, in San Francisco all the bond issues, even for libraries and schools, went down in defeat. That prompted a comment from Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA) when asked by a reporter from the area if he would consider a measure to raise taxes: "Why should I listen to them? They are all losers." He later clarified his statement, saying he wasn't calling the State Legislators losers but rather all of the bond issues in the area, asserting that if they won't pass in San Francisco they won't pass anywhere.
I could detail all of the other transit issues but I think you have the idea. Cities small, medium and large voted for transit -- at the same time they were giving a Republican President a mandate and increasing the numbers of Republicans in both the House and the Senate.
Clearly, transit has become a non-partisan issue. When told that the light rail program passed in Phoenix, Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) said, "I'm delighted. I am glad to see conservatives supporting light rail."
Our sentiments exactly.
Whereas transit was once considered a Great Society program for the poor and those who had no other means of getting around, now where good transit is being offered to voters, voters are willing to raise their own taxes to pay for systems that work. They do so because they want to ride rail transit themselves. Transit is supported in areas which are Republican as well as Democrat, conservative as well as liberal.
Senator Bob Bennett (R-UT), a friend of at least 35 years, nearly got drummed out of the Republican Party in his State because he supported light rail in Salt Lake City. Today, after seeing TRAX in action, many of these same people who were ready to topple their longtime and very effective Senator are now twisting his arm to see if they can't get light rail to their suburb next. Bennett was just overwhelmingly re-elected on November 2nd.
From here on, transit planners don't have to hope for a strong turnout of Democrats to pass their measures. These days transit can appeal to all parts of the community. That is further good news coming out of this election. Sorry, libertarians. The voters don't often buy your anti-transit arguments anymore.
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Paul M. Weyrich is Chairman and CEO of the Free Congress Foundation.
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Note -- The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, and/or philosophy of GOPUSA.
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