The conservative Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce has endorsed the creation of a regional transit authority, just a few weeks after Del. Rob Bell intimated that he wouldn’t support a bill authorizing the region to hold a referendum to enable it. Awk-ward. Now Bell’s got to a) find a way to backpedal b) go up against the Chamber or c) find a Third Way.
Honestly, I have a hard time understanding conservative opposition to allowing localities to hold referendums as to whether they should tax themselves; isn’t that precisely the sort of close-to-the-people governance that Republicans should be all about? But I since this involves taxation, I guess this is the sort of thing that the flat-earth caucus would hold up to claim that Bell is an apostate. Given how liberal that the 58th has become, criticism from that bunch might be the sort of inoculation that would do Bell some good come November, but since he’s presumably got his eye on a higher office (why else have over $400k on hand?), staying pure may be more important.
Actually, the Chamber has had for some time in its established public policy priorities the following on transportation: “continued enhancement of appropriate public transit options, including a regional transit system.”
As a result, it is not a stretch for the Chamber to support the formation of the Charlottesville-Albemarle Regional Transit Authority (CARTA). In fact, most observers expect getting that piece of enabling legislation passed will not be problematic. In a meeting with legislators on October 23, 2008, I reported the following: “Delegate David Toscano (D-57), Delegate Rob Bell (R-58), and Senator Emmett Hanger (R-24) listened to a description of the RTA project and then weighed in with their assessment of the political landscape in Richmond, and their home districts. The legislators all offered their support to help Charlottesville and Albemarle seek authority to jointly operate a transit system. However, funding it with new taxes ran into a mix of skepticism, alternative ideas, and outright opposition. The legislators did agree that if there was to be any local tax increase, it would require a voter referendum.”
Generally Delegate Bell and the Chamber are actually on the same page as I see it. Both are supportive of the legislation to create the RTA. Both have serious questions about the SECOND piece of legislation that enables new funding sources for our local governments. Both are opposed to a LOCAL SALES TAX increase to pay for it (and for other transportation needs). Both think the STATE needs to adequately fund transportation. Bell thinks the state already has the resources to do it, they are just not allocated appropriately. The Chamber thinks new streams of revenue need to be created, preferably in the form of a local gas tax and other revenue options.
So bottom line, based on our extensive reporting on the Regional Transit Authority [view all articles], it in not accurate to portray Bell and the Chamber being at odds on this issue at this time.
Brian Wheeler
Charlottesville Tomorrow
It’s been clear for many years now that conservatives favor local government except when that government does the wrong thing, in which case the state or federal government should override it. (See preemption of numerous state and local regulations during the Bush administration just for starters.)
Exactly how this differs from not favoring local government at all is left as an exercise for the reader.
Thanks for that, Brian. I didn’t know that Bell supported the authority, but opposed funding it, but that said, I’m not sure that it makes any difference. The difference between opposing the transit authority and supporting it but opposing funding it is purely academic, after all. :)