Thanks for Commenting
from her bio on the nmshtd site:
"She also was very instrumental in convincing the New Mexico Legislature to approve a much-needed statewide highway infrastructure improvement package GRIP – Governor Richardson’s Investment Partnership."
ummm....yeah.
I was in the legislature back in 2003 when we had a special session at the end of October and where we passed GRIP I. I clearly remember that Secretary Rhonda G. Faught testified in committees and through other legislature members on both the House and Senate floors that the train would not take funding from road projects now less than four years later she is saying we are in a funding crisis. Those of us who opposed the train said that it would suck the state dry and now it is happening. What is scary is that the $20 million that for operation and maintenance is just an estimate and will increase. At some point we will find ourselves in an economic recession and the state will have a revenue shortfall. When that happens we will still have to provide the operation and maintenance for the train and the only place where the money can come from will be to decrease the K-12 education budget.
There's a funding crisis facing all of our nation's our roadways. Funding for GRIP projects comes from State, Federal and local partnerships. So, to squarely put this in the lap of Faught and the Governor is not right.
Also, they can't use federal or local road money on the train. So, it's not entirely correct to say that the train is somehow siphoning money from the roads. But I understand that more effective political messaging.
Commenting by HaloScan
