McQuigg Annouces Oppositon to HOT Lanes
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Topic: McQuigg Annouces Oppositon to HOT Lanes
Posted By: MJ
Subject: McQuigg Annouces Oppositon to HOT Lanes
Date Posted: 17 Oct 2005 at 2:51pm
Believe it or not...Michelle McQuigg has finally announced her position on HOT Lanes. This was emailed to me by Michelle McQuigg's office.
McQuigg Opposes I-95 HOT Lane Proposals
After careful evaluation, Delegate says both plans hurt commuters & taxpayers
OCCOQUAN, VA – Virginia State Delegate Michèle McQuigg announced that she opposes both proposals (the Fluor-Transurban and 95 Express) that would convert existing High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes on I-95 into High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes.
The announcement came after the Advisory Panel, which has been reviewing the plan since late April, met for the fourth time last night. The final meeting is scheduled to be on November 1.
McQuigg stated, “Neither proposal is financially viable and either the taxpayers will be required to pay the difference and/or the current users will be forced off of the HOV lanes.” Furthermore, she said that the traffic and revenue projections and the true cost to the taxpayer don’t add up.
McQuigg added, “I am concerned about the assumptions, the cost to maintain the system, the fiscal impact to transit and who will pay among other things.”
McQuigg also said that she is concerned that neither proposal has a realistic enforcement plan and the traffic flow onto the 14th Street Bridge, congestion issues and the actual volume of vehicles have not been adequately addressed.
McQuigg had previously expressed concerns about both plans; however, she wanted to allow the process to work before making a decision.
“I believe I owed it to my constituents to allow the process to work, for the advisory committee to evaluate each proposal, and to maintain a diplomatic position since the final decision is an executive one,” she said. “However, at this point I do not think the proposals are well thought out, and I am concerned about the impact on our HOV/slug system.”
McQuigg has consistently said, “I have a track record of support for our HOV and slug system and will not do anything to impede them.” This support has included securing hundreds of additional commuter parking spaces at Horner Road, Tackett’s Mill and Route 123/Old Bridge.
“I have been working with ‘slugs’ and ‘body snatchers’ since 1992 ensuring that government does not get in their way enabling a truly effective system,” she said.
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Replies:
Posted By: MDC
Date Posted: 17 Oct 2005 at 3:59pm
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I got the same email. Nice to see that someone is paying attention.
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Posted By: HOV3Slug
Date Posted: 19 Oct 2005 at 2:52pm
Good news! Jeff is against HOT!
From: "Delegate Jeff Frederick" Add to Address Book Add Mobile Alert
To: "'Hov 3 Slug'"
Subject: RE: HOT Lane proposals - where to you stand on them.
Date: Tue, 18 Oct 2005 16:20:00 -0400
In a nutshell, yes, he does concur with McQuigg. He came out against the proposals months ago, though.
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From: Hov 3 Slug [mailto:hov3slug@yahoo.com]
Sent: Tuesday, October 18, 2005 11:24 AM
To: Delegate Jeff Frederick
Cc: jeff@votejeff.com
Subject: RE: HOT Lane proposals - where to you stand on them.
This is what I am looking for:
http://www.slug-lines.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2874
I voted for Jeff last time. I plan to vote for him this time. Politics is an ugly business, hence, I express my views but don't want my name out there.
Please let me know if Jeff concurs with the attached link or where I can find his views on this issue. If his views are public please point me in the right direction. Thank you.
Delegate Jeff Frederick wrote:
Sir: Delegate Frederick's position on the HOT proposals is public and has been reported by the media. That said, we have found that anonymous requests are typically the opposition sniffing around and if you aren't the opposition, you shouldn't need to hide your identity.
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From: Hov 3 Slug [mailto:hov3slug@yahoo.com]
Sent: Monday, October 17, 2005 11:55 AM
To: Delegate Jeff Frederick
Subject: RE: HOT Lane proposals - where to you stand on them.
I do not want a personal response to me, only a web page address to see where he stands on the HOT lane issue. If it is not available today, fine. I do expect him to have a page out there the weekend before 11/08 addressing his position on HOT lanes. If not, I will vote for Hilda. I expect Hilda to play politics, not Jeff.
Please email me the web page site on Jeff's convictions on this issue and others when available. Thank you.
Delegate Jeff Frederick wrote:
Delegate Frederick will be happy to respond if you could kindly provide your name and address, we'll pass this on to him and make sure he responds directly to you.
Thank you.
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From: Hov 3 Slug [mailto:hov3slug@yahoo.com]
Sent: Sunday, October 16, 2005 7:47 PM
To: jeff@votejeff.com
Subject: HOT Lane proposals - where to you stand on them.
Jeff,
As we approach 11/08 I am searching the web for where you and Hilda stand on the issues. Among them are the HOT lane proposals. Please email me the web site page that discusses where you stand on this issue, as well as others.
Thanks,
HOV3SLUG
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Posted By: SpongeBob
Date Posted: 19 Oct 2005 at 3:22pm
Jeff has paid more attention to this issue than any other politician in the House. Not only did he help secure funding for expansion of the 234 lot, he has shown up for every important HOT discussion or forum and has consistently stated his opposition to abandoning ride-sharing.
I will be voting him -- the first time I've ever crossed party lines. Hilda has not stated her position, but at this point, I don't care.
(I also like Jeff's idea of disallowing contributions from developers to local supervisors voting on their projects. As he says, it is just common sense.)
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Posted By: Haru
Date Posted: 19 Oct 2005 at 7:40pm
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This is the exact opposite position that McQuigg took when she told me there was ONLY one solution to the traffic on I-95: HOT Lanes. I think this is just a politcal expediency, I doubt she has given any thought to it or has any clue on how to resolve traffic in Northern VA. She has consistently voted for development and has just as constitently voted against transportation improvements and other needed infrastructure. She voted for 90% of all housing development while a supervisor and currently receives most of her campaign contributions from developers. She simply can not be trusted, further she has been ranked as one of the least effective members of the House of Delegates, but not quite as bad as Jeff frederick, who was ranked the least effective legislator in the entire House of Delegates...his own party thinks he is incompetent.
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Posted By: SpongeBob
Date Posted: 20 Oct 2005 at 9:12am
Who are you, Haru? On what do you base any of these extravagant claims? Have you met Michelle? I have. Have you met Jeff? I have. Have you spoken at length to either of them on this issue? I have. Where are these listings of effectiveness, and from what perch of advantage do you pronounce these pearls of wisdom, to wit: his own party thinks thus and so. What? Are you "his own party" that speaks with one voice?
Please give me more ineffective legislators like Jeff who take the time to meet constituents on an issue, learn about it, take a stand, and show up at the meetings to oppose the major powers. This is what Jeff did, you know-nothing.
And give me more ineffective legislators who, on their own, secure over $5 million to build the FIRST new commuter parking spaces in PWC in the last four years. This, too, is what Jeff did.
And Michelle, to her credit, is at least on our side. You can count on one hand the politicians who have taken the time to study this issue and decided to oppose toll roads. Why attack and denigrate the few who publicly announce their opposition to the prevailing mind-set of everyone else in Richmond? What do we gain?
So shut your ill-informed pie-hole, newbie.
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Posted By: defender
Date Posted: 20 Oct 2005 at 1:11pm
Sponge: She is only coming because Porta made major inroads on her campaign. There are quite a few crossers this year -- for the right reason. Barg has not record to support sending her to Richmond. Some will say the same for McQuigg.
Oh, Haru, wher do you get the "least effective?" From the Demo Caucus? I can play it this way, in his first term, Jeff brought more dollars directly to his district than any previous Delegate.
So that is inefffective?
How about sponsoring the Bill increasing birth defect test from 9 to 30, bring VA in line with CDC protocols and saving $M through early intervention?
What about $5.8M for the 234 commuter lot expansion? Will you blame Jeff that the county is sitting on the work?
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Posted By: MDC
Date Posted: 20 Oct 2005 at 3:32pm
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I can say that Michelle McQuigg did ask for comments from commuters on her website regarding HOT. Perhaps she considered the comments people bothered to send her?
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Posted By: ohio 7
Date Posted: 21 Oct 2005 at 10:34am
quote:
Originally posted by MDC
[br]I can say that Michelle McQuigg did ask for comments from commuters on her website regarding HOT. Perhaps she considered the comments people bothered to send her?
I was one who responded to her request for comments. She called (and has called a number of times thru the many years that I have known her) me at home and we talked for half an hour on the subject. She was still non-committal on the subject of being for or against HOT. I mentioned that if she is for HOT then this may be her Waterloo. Looks like she made a decision shortly after our conversation.
From my personal experience with Michele, she has taken her time to carefully research both sides of a situation and then asks the people who would be directly effected by a decision how they feel about it. Together with this info and her research, she makes a choice. I only hope that she has the courage of her convictions.
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Posted By: SpongeBob
Date Posted: 21 Oct 2005 at 2:24pm
And that is just what I found when talking to her.
She kept insisting (probably still does) that HOV will remain free. I couldn't convince her it was impossible. But it seems she turned against toll roads based on the rest of the arguments against killing our highway.
Whatever. It is the right position and we ought to be glad anyone at all is paying attention.
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Posted By: Haru
Date Posted: 25 Oct 2005 at 1:28pm
quote:
Originally posted by SpongeBob
[br]Who are you, Haru? On what do you base any of these extravagant claims? Have you met Michelle? I have. Have you met Jeff? I have. Have you spoken at length to either of them on this issue? I have. Where are these listings of effectiveness, and from what perch of advantage do you pronounce these pearls of wisdom, to wit: his own party thinks thus and so. What? Are you "his own party" that speaks with one voice?
Please give me more ineffective legislators like Jeff who take the time to meet constituents on an issue, learn about it, take a stand, and show up at the meetings to oppose the major powers. This is what Jeff did, you know-nothing.
And give me more ineffective legislators who, on their own, secure over $5 million to build the FIRST new commuter parking spaces in PWC in the last four years. This, too, is what Jeff did.
And Michelle, to her credit, is at least on our side. You can count on one hand the politicians who have taken the time to study this issue and decided to oppose toll roads. Why attack and denigrate the few who publicly announce their opposition to the prevailing mind-set of everyone else in Richmond? What do we gain?
So shut your ill-informed pie-hole, newbie.
Jeff Frederick is rated the least effective member of the Virginia Legislature, that is he is dead last, by the Virginia Foundation for Research and Economics Education, a statewide non-partisan political research organiztion to business and industry, McQuigg was ranked 80 of 98. The rankings are based on the ability of the legislator to get his or her legislation passed, both McQuigg and Frederick are unable to get much of anything done because they are viewed as incompetent by their own party. I have met regualrly with McQuigg and will continue to do so, to try to force her to actually do something for PWC, in the 7 yrs she has been a delegate she has not gotten a single bill passed to help PWC, secondly she has consitently opposed transporation improvements in Northern Virginia, thirdly she readily admits that she doesn't read any of the legislation she votes on....she also, until a week ago supported HOT and will again if re-elected because she gets her $ from the developers. She gets virtually zero $ from her district virtually every dime comes from developer PACs.
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Posted By: N_or_S_bound
Date Posted: 25 Oct 2005 at 2:47pm
Things aren't always as they appear. Some folks are rejected by their parties because they don't play the party's games and thus are cast out to the wolves. Who funds the VA FREE? Independent BUSINESSES. Are developers independent businesses? Do independent businesses have PACs?
It always has to go back to following the money trail. There are a rare few people out there with altruistic motives in what they do, yet these are the same people who are vilified as being anti-this or pro-that. This and that are whatever someone's favorite pet rock of the moment is.
It is wise to look at the situation from as many angles as one can, research the money trail as best one can, then make the best decision based on the existing data reflected upon your own past experiences and projections for the future.
I would be hard-pressed to take any one organization's word on any one or two (or 98) politicians. The money trail says more about this organization than VA FREE can say about anybody who may have invested in VA FREE's past, present or future.
Think independently people. Don't let those with the power (read: money) manipulate you to support their bought positions. Do your own research (you have a computer and can do some amount fairly easily), make your own decisions and pray that you've made an honorable one.
Read an article on bird flu. It's put out by a very unbiased organization (yes, I checked). Pointing to the improbability of bird flu wiping out millions like in 1918. They also mention possible motives for spreading the story to create some stress, uneasiness and even mild panic. Find organizations you can trust, then verify continually. You owe it to yourself and others no less.
NoSb
SOV because you can, HOV because you care!
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