Eddie Rodriguez Explains His ‘No’ Vote On CAMPO
October 14th, 2007 at 5:28 am
The policy board of the Capitol Area Metropolitan Planning Organization approved a controversial second round of toll roads early last week. Eddie Rodriguez (D-East Austin) cast one of the few votes against adopting the toll plan. I spoke to him late that evening after the vote and asked him to explain why.
At the board meeting, Rodriguez did not make any hay out of his opposition to the plan. My notes indicate he used the word “speechify” and lamented the lack of information on how these latest toll roads would affect different “income levels.” Then I noted the “endless shuffling of paper.”
He said later that he had requested data from the Texas Department of Transportation on income levels in and around the proposed tollways, and “never got anything about where the poor people are.”
Rodriguez wrote an op-ed decrying the fact that most of the planned toll roads were east of I-35.
What he wanted to know from TxDoT is: whether or not the toll plan will force people — that already cannot afford their electric bill, gasoline, and inflated meat, beer, and milk prices — to dump their precious quarters and dollars into a toll booth every time they drive to work.
“This is the real impact,” Rodriguez said. He and I agreed that a lot of people, particularly the poor, will never take a toll road unless they are forced to. But, Rodriguez said, “they sure as hell might want to sometimes.”
Rodriguez weighed in on the so-called debate over whether or not the roads are existing roads being tolled, or just new roads with a ‘user fee.’
“The roads aren’t going to look exactly like they look today,” he said. “This is the same road, basically, and now you’ve got to pay a toll… What I wish is that we would just be honest… The benefit outweighs the cost.”
He also criticized the leadership of TxDot. “I think the Ric Williams‘ of the world… made a decision that we are going to toll,” Rodriguez said. “In 2004 we had a gun to our head… To say we actually had a choice (in 2007) is kind of farfetched.”
Rodriguez ended with something of a dire prediction. He said in the future, when a big road project is considered, it may well be considered as a tollway first.
“Anytime we want to build roads from now on,” Rodriguez said, “they’re going to say, ‘We’ve got to toll it.’”
October 14th, 2007 at 2:04 pm
Rep. Eddie Rodriguez is a rare breed.
Too bad the majority of CAMPO members, under the leadership of Sen. Kirk Watson, voted to spend $910 million tax dollars to shift our freeways to toll roads. Too bad they don’t listen to the public, when we say NO DOUBLE TAX TOLLS.
Learn more here:
http://salcostello.blogspot.com/
Sal “The Muckraker” Costello
October 15th, 2007 at 8:07 pm
Warmest congratulations to Rep. Eddie Rodriguez for once again voting against toll roads. He was also on the side of the public interest in 2004 when, if recall correctly, the CAMPO board first voted 17-6 in favor of toll roads.
We need more public servants like Eddie rodriguez.
Dave Shapiro
January 27th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
[…] you in complaining about the gas tax and by the time she lets you go, you’re likely paying a toll to drive on the same highways your gas taxes already paid for. And she’s proud that the […]