QuoteHard times prompt Florida Republicans to get on board high-speed rail plan
By Gary Reese
Florida Insider
October 23, 2009 â€" It’s been months since Gov. Charlie Crist hugged President Obama over the offer of federal stimulus money from Washington. Crist may have sustained political damage, certainly within his own party. The latest InsiderAdvantage shows that his statewide approval rating has dropped to 48%. But Crist palling around with Obama is old political news in Florida, and much of the dust has settled. Other key Florida Republicans kept their conservative stripes by either opposing outright or expressing reservations about the federal largesse.
Now the plot thickens. A group of both Democrats and Republicans, from state representatives to US senators, has returned from Washington with firm resolve to get a special session of the legislature convened; one that would put the state government once and for all behind high-speed rail along the I-4 corridor in Central Florida, and possibly behind rescuing South Florida’s faltering Tri-Rail commuter system.
In the spring of good economic times, Republicans one and all can afford to wax philosophical about that nefarious federal money with strings attached. But in an era of double-digit statewide unemployment, dollars from Washington â€" even if newly printed â€" look awfully fresh and green. Especially when they can potentially put thousands to work, and carry even more thousands to and from their jobs more efficiently.
The governor and Senate President Jeff Atwater (R-North Palm Beach) want the session. Proper statesmanship aside, they both have personal reasons: Each seeks higher office â€" Crist, the US Senate and Atwater, state chief financial officer â€" and so they must appeal to Floridians of all political stripes.
Crist, of course, would like nothing more than justification for having leaped in head first at the first mention of stimulus money. Having other GOP bigwigs join hands with him over rail could dampen the criticism he’s gotten from the tea-partying clique. Call it innocence by association. And Atwater can’t afford to be seen as obstructionist on federal rail money. So there’s two votes from the triumvirate that must unanimously consent to a special session in order for it to happen.
The third one could be trickier. State House Speaker Larry Cretul (R-Ocala) may have his eyes on the higher prize of a congressional seat. And winning that is mainly about tossing bloody chunks of partisan meat to a conservatively gerrymandered electorate. Cretul is on record against federal stimulus money. If he caves on rail money, the philosophical underpinnings for his just-emerging political identity might crumple.
Cretul likely is thinking along these lines. Why else his hesitancy to check off on at least the idea of a special session? Yet he could be surrounded by pressure from his party mates to work out a funded rail plan.
Even state Sen. Paula Dockery (R-Lakeland) may be forced to play along. She’s long been the loudest opponent to SunRail in central Florida, but she’s also considering a run for governor herself. Continued opposition as an underdog candidate for governor would seem hard to fathom if federal money guts her argument that SunRail would be prohibitively expensive. And would she keep opposing SunRail if her opposition would also endanger funding for South Florida’s Tri-Rail? That’s a lot of votes to risk.
Cretul could be wavering between alternate strategies. He could play hard to get, garner some spashy headlines, then broker a dramatic deal that cements Florida’s rail future. The trouble with that is special sessions rarely happen unless things are worked out behind the scenes, and in advance. Public gamesmanship by Cretul would be tough to pull off.
His other choice could be to help torpedo the whole shebang without openly opposing the idea of a federal-state partnership on rail. One way could be to exploit the divisions and sometimes ill-will between advocates of SunRail and Tri-Rail; and to keep the projects separate when the feds are looking for statewide unity in Tallahassee. Tri-Rail rescue may hinge on the Republican-majority legislature’s willingness to impose a tax surcharge on rental cars in the tourism-driven state. It could even come down to semantics â€" is it a “surcharge,†or a “tax?†Republicans might be able to hold their nose and back the former; less likely that they could vote for anything presented in media as a tax.
If ever these rail projects are going to get going, this December in a special session may be the time. Complications remain, mainly conflicting political ambitions among the major players, and regional tension between the central and southern parts of the state. But no one ever could have foreseen 11% unemployment in Florida. If the feds winked at the Florida delegation in Washington and told them that a special-session commitment to rail would definitely win federal money, then the trains may start running, and on time.
Cretul remains the holdout. Maybe he must be given something in exchange for his support.
http://www.southernpoliticalreport.com/storylink_1023_1076.aspx
The moral of the story: Support the rail that we have ( So. Florida Commuter Tri-Rail), before getting new rail.
I hope we have been given that wink and know what it will take to get our projects funded because North Carolina seems to have better ideas IMO.
JefferyS .....what concerns me is the prospect of what is taking place in those back smoke filled rooms! So much for Sunshine Laws right?
The moral of the story is you have a reporter's opinion of the situation. From sources more closely linked, it appears that the plan is to support both Sunrail and Tri-rail. Personally, I won't complain. Its about time this state put money into supporting passenger rail systems.
OH MY GOD! I'M DONE! Going to bed now with a bottle of REBEL YELL! Finally Lakelander, Faye, and I agree on a bottom line:
SUPPORT THE RAIL WE HAVE BEFORE GOING AFTER NEW RAIL PROJECTS.
OCKLAWAHA
Wow, so if the economy were to magically turn around next week, then what?
I have said it before and will say it again................enhance what we have before we go to new and better! WE have tracks and ROW that is not used to their capacity and we are trying to start something new and wonderfull in the Orlando region. OK that's just fine................properly designed for maximum use and cost effective to install and operate but there are tracks that are not used to their fullest............yeah,scheduling could be an issue but the tracks are still there and we are ignoring what we have at the cost of what we want.
Sorry but at 47 years of age I TRUST NO republicans AT THIS TIME OR IN THE FUTURE!
Yeah reednavy, I agree with what you are asking and I too ask, "why do they wait until bad times to get things started?"
Oh, that's right, if the economy is faltering or is bad, then you put people to work to get it to restart. Well, if they had went ahead with all these plans during the good times, and had put people to work when the times were good, maybe the economy wouldn't have faltered or crashed! (DUH!!!!!).
Heights Unknown
Quote from: reednavy on October 24, 2009, 12:45:54 AM
Wow, so if the economy were to magically turn around next week, then what?
As Heights Unknown has pointed out so well, had we invested in our rail system, perhaps we wouldn't be feeling the economic crash. OCKLAWAHA
Quote from: Ocklawaha on October 23, 2009, 11:48:32 PM
OH MY GOD! I'M DONE! Going to bed now with a bottle of REBEL YELL! Finally Lakelander, Faye, and I agree on a bottom line:
SUPPORT THE RAIL WE HAVE BEFORE GOING AFTER NEW RAIL PROJECTS.
OCKLAWAHA
Hope you enjoyed the Rebel Yell last night ;D
Boosting support for Tri-Rail, the only existing commuter rail in Florida, is long overdue. THAT is the rail we have.
That part is a no-brainer, however adding a fresh look at a non-existent and earlier rejected Central Florida Commuter Rail is going to be difficult at best:
QuoteGov. Charlie Crist likes the idea of a special session, but he's more interested in getting his gaming deal with the Seminoles approved than ensuring that Tri-Rail, the state's only existing commuter rail, has enough money to operate. House Speaker Larry Crutel isn't on board with the special session, and he's downright opposed to the governor's gaming compact â€" going so far as to urge federal regulators to shut down the tribe's gambling operations because the state and the Seminoles are at an "impasse."
Wait, there's more. In the Florida Senate, there are members pushing hard for a new commuter rail line in the Orlando area that, to date, a majority of their colleagues, including almost all the senators from South Florida, oppose because they think it's a better deal for CSX Corp. than the state. Even if those two sides can agree, there's still that conservative bloc of Republican senators who oppose using state revenue to pay for "local" rail programs.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/columnists/sfl-dlcol24sboct24,0,99272.column
Keep it simple,.......show the support that is needed for Tri-Rail and leave the new central florida commuter rail discussion to the regular session. We show we are committed to our existing commuter rail, before adding new commuter rail and/or HSR.
Quote from: FayeforCure on October 24, 2009, 10:44:04 AM
Keep it simple,.......show the support that is needed for Tri-Rail and leave the new central florida commuter rail discussion to the regular session. We show we are committed to our existing commuter rail, before adding new commuter rail and/or HSR.
Yes, they are low balling the Central Florida Commuter Rail numbers so when it starts up, it will blow them away, making the whole project, more Magic Kingdom genius!
The "Other" rail that we have is:
QuoteAn Ocklaproduction:
Miami MetroRail, another red headed step child that needs attention.
Tampa Streetcar, a good start on something like "rapid streetcar", LRT, Heritage, or a blend of all.
Amtrak, a heretofor completely ignored component, a mere shred of what was once the "Last stand of the long distance passenger trains." Like all of Florida's recent history, the day before we saw the first Amtrak train, we were among the top in the nation as a state. Today, we are near the bottom!
Jacksonville Skyway, Do we need to say anything more about a system never finished?
When fast , (I'm talking 90-100 mph), Amtrak trains once again hub out of Jacksonville Terminal, and the rail pattern of Florida triangles is reestablished, with frequent services. Then it will be time to think about High Speed Rail. If someday Gulf Coast HSR and Southeast HSR, reach Jacksonville, then making a hub in Orlando, will be a glaring error. OCKLAWAHA
HOW THE AMTRAK TRIANGLES POINT TO JACKSONVILLE
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa111/Ocklawaha/CRITICAL%20Maps/LastmapbeforeAMTRAK.jpg)
Call this map "The Day Before Amtrak." (http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa111/Ocklawaha/CRITICAL%20Maps/FIRSTAMTRAKMAPFL.jpg)
The first day of Amtrak, left us one of the very few "decently accommodated" city's. (http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa111/Ocklawaha/CRITICAL%20Maps/TodaysAmtrakMapFL.jpg)
Amtrak at 35+ years, Today's Amtrak Florida. While other states have joined the system, and added new trains, what has Tallahassee been thinking? Obviously CONCRETE and ASPHALT. (http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa111/Ocklawaha/FloridaAmtrakTriangles.jpg)
Why Orlando is a bad choice for a "Rail Hub", historic travel patterns don't match it, even with a mouse. (http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa111/Ocklawaha/CRITICAL%20Maps/FloridaRailMap2006-1.jpg)
Compare this with the triangle map above. OCKLAWAHA
Well thanks to "Dubya" and his kid brother "Jeb" rail got shot down in flames .....so maybe since they are not longer in the GOB active players bunch............maybe this time around......I sure hope so!! By the way, nice on the mapping Ock........makes much more sense then what is starting to bloom Orlando way!
Quote from: CS Foltz on October 24, 2009, 08:16:52 PM
Well thanks to "Dubya" and his kid brother "Jeb" rail got shot down in flames .....so maybe since they are not longer in the GOB active players bunch............maybe this time around......I sure hope so!! By the way, nice on the mapping Ock........makes much more sense then what is starting to bloom Orlando way!
Yup, it's brilliant for the current administration to promote HSR. It's the difference between short-sighted thinking and long-term strategic thinking!!
The High Speed Rail spill-over effect from a comment on The Transport Politic:
Quote“We are trying to run before we have learned to walkâ€
I understand the sentiments of long distance passenger rail advocates, who feel their (real and immediate) concerns for more investment in legacy passenger rail are being ignored for what may be to them the “flavour de jour†of HSR. However, I think it is essential to fully fund and develop at least one HSR system (California’s, basically) to serve as a showcase to the national public. The difference between true HSR and a current Amtrak long distance train is like night and day- akin to someone getting out of a Ford Model T and stepping into a 2009 Mercedes, not to mention infrastructure. One ride on HSR will make fence sitters and even many skeptics believers in passenger rail- I guarantee it. And that will have a beneficial spillover effect to connecting Amtrak long distance and regional services.
http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2009/10/20/florida-east-coast-railway-studied-for-potential-intercity-and-commuter-services/