Heretick on transportation plan

Steve Heretick, the Democratic candidate in the 13th Senate district, issued a statement this afternoon in response to the Republican press conference on the transportation plan.

“Transportation funding requires steady, reliable funding sources,” Councilman Heretick said. “After years of failing to provide real leadership on this issue, and to afford our region a real plan to pay for the new roads and bridges we critically need, and to maintain those we have which are failing, all they can come up with is a flimsy band-aid.”

“This whole mess began when my opponent Fred Quayle, with his colleagues in the Republican caucus, met behind locked doors earlier this year in a desperate attempt to put something on the table to sidestep years of legislative gridlock. What they produced, to no one’s surprise, was not a real solution, just a real mess.”

Councilman Heretick added, “Now they are realizing what years of political tap dancing have resulted in: working Virginians who have truly had enough of business as usual Richmond, of tax-cut gimmicks, and of so-called leadership which is more interested in re-election than dealing with real problems with real action.

‘Today, Senator Quayle and others in the Republican leadership stand up and say they are going to fix the transportation crisis by imposing the abuser fees on out of state drivers. After a sustained, plainly justified outcry from Virginians, they finally acknowledge the incredible unfairness of imposing these egregious fees on only on in-state drivers. However, this is not a solution to the transportation crisis. Let’s be honest, it is very difficult to collect fees and fines form out of state drivers, let alone when they are thousands of dollars. Does Senator Fred Quayle really believe that he can collect ‘abuser fees’ from drivers from New Jersey, Ohio or California? Imagine the costs involved in trying to go after these out of state drivers. In addition, this is nothing more than a hidden regressive tax, not a sustainable, long standing solution to the very real transportation crisis.

“We can’t hold bridges up with hot air. The King’s Highway bridge in Suffolk, a key route for evacuation of the Hampton Roads region in case of emergency, was been left to rot under Fred Quayle’s leadership, and is now closed, with no current plan to fix it. It stands today in mute testament to what his lack of leadership in the Senate has produced.”

“Year after year, the Republican General Assembly has failed to deliver a transportation plan which we can depend on to carry this Commonwealth into the future. Now, 75 days from Election Day, this plan reeks of desperation. The time for leadership was years ago, and that time has now long passed. Actions really do speak louder than words. Working Virginians have had enough. Working Virginians deserve real answers, real solutions, and real leadership.”

“When I am elected to the Virginia Senate, I will work for real solutions and fair ways for Virginia to solve our transportation crisis. The next session of the General Assembly should not adjourn and stay in session until we can show working Virginians we have real leadership in Richmond who can provide real solutions to our very real problems. I think the next General Assembly should commit itself to remain in session, until it can look Virginians in the eye and offer real solutions to our transportation needs. Anything less is not leadership,” Councilman Heretick concluded.