A transportation bill for Larry George

Steve Novick
BlueOregon
May 26, 2009

Earlier today, Bob Stacey of 1000 Friends and I held a press conference on the transportation bill. I hope it will get some coverage, but want to be sure BlueOregon readers can see my full remarks. So far opposition to the bill has been reported as "some environmentalists are complaining"; to me the concerns about earmarks, addressed below, are at least as strong a reason to oppose the bill as the absence of some provisions the environmental community had sought. I recognize the need for road funding. I understand that the Democratic leaders are just trying to do the responsible thing. But I think they have paid too high a price.

These were the notes I used for my remarks.  (I didn't use everything, but did use most of it):

This bill because is inconsistent with the vision for transportation repeatedly and articulately outlined by Governor Ted Kulongoski and by his Transportation Vision Committee in its report of November 2008.

It was the Vision Committee that recommended attacking global warming pollution by requiring the state’s six metro regions implement plans to reduce transportation greenhouse gases (which represent one-third of Oregon’s emissions).  As Casey Stengel said, you can look it up.  It’s on page 11 of the Vision Committee report. It’s repeated on page 26. But under HB 2001, no metro area other than Portland is required to implement regional plans—leaving Oregon as the ONLY West Coast state not requiring regional planning to reduce these emissions in every metro area (Cal. SB 375 (2008); Wash. Gov. Gregoire Exec. Order (May 2009)).

It was the Vision Committee that recommended increasing the State’s dedication of highway and road funds for bicycle and pedestrian improvements from one to 1.5A%.  You can look it up. It’s on page 20 of the report.  It’s repeated on page 26.

It is important to note that the Vision Committee was not a fringe group composed of wild-eyed environmentalists.  The Vision Committee included people like Pat Reiten of Pacific Power, Gail Achterman of the Oregon Transportation Commission, and representatives of AAA, Associated Oregon Industries, the Oregon Business Association, and the Portland Business Alliance. 

Finally, it was Governor Kulongoski who said forcefully that he would veto any bill that contained earmarks. It was Governor Kulongoski who wrote that "Having the Legislature choose the transportation projects that will be funded is not the Oregon way."

This bill contains $960 million in earmarks.  And it demonstrates that Governor Kulongoski was right to oppose earmarks.  Because any Oregonian who reads this list of earmarks is going to be left wondering whether these decisions were made based on good transportation policy, or on political muscle.  

The single largest earmark, by a country mile, is the $192 million earmark for the Newberg-Dundee bypass. Apparently, the Legislature has decided that the Newberg-Dundee bypass is the single most important transportation priority in Oregon. 

I recognize that the Transportation Commission identified the Newberg-Dundee bypass, with a total price tag of $550 million, as a project of statewide significance. But that does not answer the question, why is this project more deserving of funding than any other project? Why is this project worth entitled to almost eight months’ worth of the additional gas taxes that all Oregonians will be required to pay?  [The gas tax is projected to raise $300 million a year. $192 million is 233.6 days’ worth. Which will make August 22 Newberg-Dundee Bypass Gas Tax Freedom Day.] 

The Transportation Commission identified an I-5 / Delta Park project, with a price tag of $96 million, as a project of statewide significance. But there is no Delta Park earmark. 

The Transportation Commission identified the I-5 / I-84 interchange, with a price tag of $780 million to $1.3 billion, as a project of statewide significance.  But there is no I-5 / I-84 earmark.  

The Transportation Commission identified the I-5 / Highway 99W connector, with a price tag of $2.1 billion, as a project of statewide significance.  But there is  no I-5 / highway 99W connector earmark. 
The Transportation Commission identified the proposed Sunrise Corridor project, with a price tag of $1 billion, as a project of statewide significance. But the Legislature earmarked only $100 million for the Sunrise Corridor. Why does the Sunrise Corridor get 10% of the money it theoretically needs, but Newberg-Dundee gets 35%?  

Why is this project different from any other project?  

In the absence of legislative leaders stepping forward to explain why the Newberg-Dundee bypass is the most important project in Oregon, we are left to speculate.  Here is one line of speculation.  

The Newberg-Dundee area is represented by Senator Larry George. Larry George has close ties to the far-right group Freedomworks, led, in Oregon, by Russ Walker. In fact, in May, 2006, according to the Oregonian, Larry George acknowledged that he “couldn’t have succeeded [in his primary challenge to incumbent Charles Starr] without help from anti-tax group Freedomworks.”  

On May 14, Russ Walker told the Oregonian that pursuing a referral for a tax increase on the wealthy to fund education and human services would be “difficult,” and that “his group may instead focus on collecting signatures to refer an expected increase in the gas tax to the ballot.”  On May 22, after the Legislature had passed a transportation bill that earmarked the equivalent of $2,000 per resident to Larry George’s Yamhill County, Russ Walker told the Oregonian that “his group will probably focus on other tax proposals.”   

So one possible explanation for why Newberg-Dundee is different from all other projects is that the only way to prevent a referral was to make Larry George happy, so that he, in turn, could persuade his friend Russ Walker not to launch a referral. 

Now, you might ask, isn’t it worth it? We don’t want a referral. We need money for roads. It’s important to the business community and the business climate. 

My answer is: the price is too high.  This is not a transportation bill for responsible people to endorse.  In particular, this is not a bill that the business community should endorse.  Again and again, business leaders have said that we need to address gridlock in the Portland metropolitan area.  A transportation bill that makes the Newberg-Dundee bypass the state’s highest priority does not address that concern. 
As Governor Kulongoski said, this is not the Oregon way.  The business community, the Governor, and environmental leaders agreed on a new vision for transportation funding in Oregon. Let’s implement that vision.  And if Russ Walker wants to launch a referral, let’s do what Chris Gregoire and community leaders did in Washington. Let’s run a campaign and beat the referral.