I have submitted the following to the Austin American-Statesman in response to their editorial last Saturday criticizing the stand several of my fellow Capital Metro board members and I have taken on a fare increase exemption for senior and disabled citizens.
The Austin American-Statesman editorial board wrote on Saturday that my work to exempt senior and disabled citizens from Capital Metro's fare increase did not show leadership. Earlier this month, the same editorial board praised me for deciding federal stimulus dollars intended for rail projects should not be used to delay fare increases that would eventually go up. The editorial board now says that working to exempt seniors and disabled citizens from the fare increase is "hedging."
Deciding to raise fares is never easy, but this time we knew it was a necessity if we wanted to maintain current levels of service. I am hopeful that raising fares will help Capital Metro better fulfill its mission to provide an efficient and affordable system of public transportation that the people of Travis County can depend on and be proud of.
While a base fare increase is unavoidable, raising fares on seniors and disabled citizens is a separate issue. Currently, they ride Capital Metro buses for free. I believe it should stay that way, and that we can avoid increasing the burden on an already vulnerable population while still putting Capital Metro on a path towards financial stability. I've been involved with government for a long time, but rarely have I been criticized for working on behalf of seniors and disabled people. There is nothing political about this. It is simply the right thing to do.
The community reaction to the fare proposal has been loud and clear. People do not believe fares should be raised for seniors or disabled riders at this time. As a public, taxpayer funded agency, we cannot ignore public input when making changes to the agency’s fare structure.
My parents taught me at a young age that leadership means standing up for those who cannot always stand up for themselves. This is what first attracted me to public service. Leadership also means listening to your constituents. At this time, it is just not wise to raise fares on the most vulnerable. I commend my fellow board members for joining me in support exempting seniors and disabled citizens from the fare increase. I am confident that my proposed exemption will pass and that the senior and disabled riders who rely on Capital Metro every day will have one less burden to worry about.
(Gomez is currently Travis County Commissioner for Pct 4. She is being challenged by Raul Alvarez in the Democratic primary. - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
Being chosen by my peers to chair the the Capital Metro Board has been an honor and a privilege. It has also been one of the toughest volunteer jobs I have ever had. We have dealt with accounting errors, a union strike and continuing delays in the opening of Metro Rail. However, despite problems with agency's leadership, I never lost sight of my responsibility as chair of the board: to help Capital Metro provide an efficient and affordable system of public transportation that the people of Travis County can depend on and take pride in.
As chair, I have had to make many tough votes. I stand by my vote against using one-time stimulus money to delay an inevitable fare increase. As an avid supporter of rail, I believe the money is better spent investing in long-term improvements to our rail lines.
As difficult as it is, a fare increase is needed to continue providing current level of service to the transit dependent. I am proud to say that Cap Metro's fares will remain among the most affordable in the nation.
I have expressed to leadership that I believe Capital Metro would benefit from an aggressive nationwide search for a new CEO with executive leadership experience. We need someone who can run an agency successful, rather than someone who only has experience in transportation.
Approving a fare increase is never a popular decision, but I believe it is the only way Capital Metro can survive at this time. However, I do not believe that we should balance the agency’s budget on the backs of elderly and disabled citizens, which is why I will ask the board to exempt seniors and disabled citizens from any fare increase.
Capital Metro has made mistakes, but this should not be one of them. There is no good reason not to exempt seniors and disabled citizens from a fare increase. My constituents in Precinct 4 and people from across the county understand this, too. Government should be there to help those who need it most, not increase their burden. In tough economic times, little things add up. For my constituents who receive Social Security and disability benefits, this is even more true.
There is a lot of work ahead at Capital Metro. To start, they should launch an aggressive nationwide search to insure we find the most qualified individual. Most importantly to the many people who rely on Capital Metro everyday, they can agree to exempt seniors and disabled citizens from a fare increase.
I look forward to hearing back from you all on this issue. Please leave your comments below or connect with me on Facebook, Twitter or on my website.
Former Austin City Councilman and current ACC Trustee Raul Alvarez has filed papers to run against Democratic incumbent Travis County Commissioner Margaret Gomez in next year's primary.
Gomez has represented Precinct 4 on the Commissioners' Court, which includes southeast Austin, Del Valle and Mustang Ridge, since 1995. Prior to that she was the precinct's constable.
Although he has not lived in the district long, Alvarez represents what could be the strongest challenge to Gomez since she was elected. In 2006, she defeated Yolanda Montemayor by 505 votes with 57.33 percent of the total vote.
When Eugene Sepulveda reported on Alvarez's entry into the race, he wrote that there was "no word yet" whether Gomez would run for reelection. While there has been no formal announcement, people close to Gomez says she plans to run for reelection and has been lining up support.
This race could turn out to be Travis County's only competitive non-judicial primary next year. With an incumbent who has a long history and relationship with her constituents facing off against a popular former City Council member, this one promises to be a race to watch.
Today's meeting of the University Democrats and Central Austin Democrats (who join to make up the Austin Progressive Coalition in races in which the two groups' endorsements align) lasted for over 4 and a half hours. The groups endorsed similarly on all but 2 races, though those two races happen to be the most contested. The jointly endorsed APC candidates are as follows. (APC produces between 10-15,000 doorhangers distributed in Central Austin student and progressive precincts for the March 7 Primary, giving this particular Travis County endorsement greater respect and attention on a regular basis locally)
In the County Commission Pct 2 race, CAD endorsed Sarah Eckhardt, and UDems went to 2 run-off votes where incumbent Karen Sonleitner was endorsed by a margin of one vote.
Some interesting points to note... Judge Charlie Baird won 100% of the vote in both groups. While Chris Bell came all the way from the Houston Tejano Democrats state convention today to speak to us, Bob Gammage won by fairly healthy margins from what I've heard in both groups, led in part by speeches from former Chris Bell supporters who I worked with back when University Democrats helped launch the Bell campaign here at UT in August of 2005. Oh the irony...
Speaking of the Tejano Democrats convention, where Bob Gammage stayed for the day, a little scuttlebutt on that made its way to Austin this afternoon. Apparently it was decided in the late afternoon that the Tejano Democrats as a statewide organization was not going to issue and endorsement in the Governor's race and voted instead to allow each individual chapter to make its own mind.
The result? Every local Tejano Democrats chapter except for Houston's, voted to endorse Bob Gammage. Apparently there was some internal wrangling on behalf of one of the gubernatorial campaigns which was working to not seat all the clubs due to technicalities in their paperwork, which resulted in a motion to localize the endorsements away from Houston control. (I'll update if I hear more that clarifies this situation). It is held by many that the Tejano Democrats are more active and valuable in terms of their endorsement than the Mexican-American Democrats who splinted away from the former body a number of years ago due to leadership and naming issues.
