Turner criticizes rail plan

No surprise here: Mayoral candidate Sylvester Turner is critical of the stripped-down Metro proposal to add 22 miles of light rail over the next nine years, and calls out Bill White for supporting it.

Standing adjacent to a rail station on the 7.5-mile rail line under construction, Turner said the Metro board should reconsider its decision to take a $640 million expansion to voters Nov. 4.

Instead, Turner said, the board should offer a $980 million alternative that would provide 40 miles over 14 years rather than 22 miles over nine years.

Metro has three more weeks to consider the matter before setting the final ballot language, Turner said. At that time, Turner will decide whether he will support or oppose the referendum.

"I am now and have always been pro-rail," Turner said. "I will be pro-rail for years to come, but this plan is broken. To the Metro board, I say, 'Fix it.' "

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Turner said the plan was designed to boost White's candidacy. White is supported by former Mayor Bob Lanier, who took part in negotiations that resulted in the 22-mile plan.

"In public, the Metro board was all too eager to do what it needed to placate the masses," Turner said. "Behind closed doors, Metro lost its backbone and caved in to rail opponents and special interests who did not bother to attend Metro's public meetings."

Schechter said White did not take part in negotiations. He noted that while White has supported the $640 million plan, the candidate also voiced prior support for as much as $980 million.

White warned that Turner was playing a dangerous political game if he ultimately opposes the referendum.

"Sylvester says he is for rail, but defeating the bond issue could set us back a decade," White said. "Nobody gets exactly everything they want. Leadership is building consensus and moving forward."

White pointed out that when Turner ran for mayor in 1991, eventually losing to Lanier in a runoff, he and Lanier both opposed a monorail plan proposed by then-Mayor Kathy Whitmire. During that campaign, Turner said that if elected, he would return with a different rail plan.

That's the pro-rail schism in a nutshell. As I said before, either you think this is the best plan that could have gotten passed, or you think Metro wimped out. I'll take what's before me and will work from there, but I know not everyone feels that way. It makes sense for Turner to advocate this position, as White's moderation is seen as a copout by some and the two candidates are mostly fighting over the same voters anyway. Turner, who like Orlando Sanchez got into the race a lot later than White and Michael Berry, needs to do some catching up, and distinguishing himself from White is a clearcut strategic move.

Speaking of Sanchez, he still appears to be on his own little planet:

Rail has been one of the most-discussed issues in the mayor's race because the next mayor must oversee implementation of the plan if one is approved.

Of the other major candidates, Michael Berry has said he opposes the plan and Orlando Sanchez continues to study it.

Okay, this issue has been in the headlines for months. The different options Metro debated have been public knowledge for weeks. The biggest concern voters have is traffic congestion. You're honestly telling me that Sanchez doesn't freaking know what he thinks about the Metro rail plan? What is he doing, waiting for the Cliff Notes? Unbelievable. The only logical explanation I can think of for Sanchez' utterly inept performance in this campaign is that he's been replaced by a pod person. Before today, I wouldn't have thought I'd be able to tell the difference, but there you have it.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on August 30, 2003 to Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | TrackBack