We all can agree with the Governor that the House Republicans are cave-dwellers, congestion deniers of the first order. But, did Kaine or the Democrats offer credible plans for transportation or planning over the past four years. If the General Assembly had accepted every Kaine proposal for transportation or planning, would we be noticeably better off today? I doubt it.
Let's look at what the Governor takes credit for. Public-private partnerships amount to paying private companies a premium to kept expenditures out of the state's budget -- an accounting gimmick. The Governor refers to attracting private financing, but the truth is that the state can borrow more cheaply than any private firm. You can be sure that the revenues the state has conceded to private firms, for operating the hot lanes, for example, will greatly exceed the expenditures the state would have incurred if it built and operated the lanes itself.
Kaine refers to Dulles rail and other mass transportation projects. But isn't this akin to someone claiming to promote good nutrition by putting a few low-cal decorations atop a seven-layer cake? VDOT's funding is still heavily skewed towards roads. The transportation projects it supports, like Dulles rail, are intended to promote more development, not reduce congestion. In fact, the state's own studies state that Dulles rail will not reduce congestion.
Do localities have any greater powers to control development now than they did four years ago? I doubt it. If they do, Fairfax County certainly is not making use of them.
Since Kaine could serve only one term, one might think that he could risk being bold, laying out for the state what a coherent, effective transportation plan for Northern Virginia would include -- the added taxes, the investments in buses and rail, the restrictions on car use and so on. If not at the beginning of his term, certainly now with less than a year to go. Well, you would be wrong. The Governor and his Democratic allies are stuck in the same rut as ever. They want to campaign again as the NABA party -- Not As Bad As the Republicans. They continue to hope that the voters will ignore the fact that they are bereft of ideas or political courage.
