Category Archives: campaign trend

Campaign Trend. TX Mayors Race. At Issue. High Speed Rail.

The Mayoral Race: San Antonio mayoral race between Mayor Ivy Taylor, Manuel Medina & Ron Nirenberg

The rail stances:

  • Manuel Medina supports Austin to San Antonio rail and high speed rail to Monterrey Mexico
  • Mayor Ivy Taylor supports Austin to San Antonio rail suggesting it be led by the provate sector
  • Ron Nirenberg supports pushing the Governor’s office to make Austin- San Antonio transportation a priority & supports connecting the Texas triangle, including the Houston to Dallas high speed…

Dedicated Transportation Funding. Who is For. Who is Against. Up in the Great Lakes.

Before voting for President, voters in Illinois will vote on a constitutional amendment to dedicate transportation funding. 

Let’s look at who has lined up where on the issue:

  • For dedicated transportation funding:
    • construction
    • unions
    • Chamber of Commerce
  • Opposed to dedicated transportation funding:
    • those who support social service funding, e.g.:
      • Heartland Alliance
      • Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law
    • tax groups who question the math, e.g.:
      •  The Civic…

Ride Share Active in West Coast Campaign. What you need to know:

Uber has made its first candidate endorsement.

The endorsee: Assemblyman Derek Armstrong (R)

Why endorse? Democrats ran 3 anti ride share ads against Armstrong claiming that he opposed criinal background checks for drivers putting women and children in danger

Were the ads that sparked the Uber endorsement accurate? No. The legislation required criminal background checks but did not require FBI background checks, which taxi cab companies in NV support.

las Vegas Sun | Uber makes first…

25% of November Bond Propositions are Transportation Bonds.

The Texas Comptroller tracks bond elections. Its a handy spreadsheet for data junkies.

On November 8th, 12 of the 50 bond measures tracked are for transportation projects:

  • Amarillo $89.5 million for streets
  • Austin $720 million for transportation and mobility
  • Bellaire $24 Million for streets, drainage and sidewalks
  • Hays Co. $131 million for transportation improvements
  • Hunt Co. $24.5 million for transportation
  • Parker Co. $76.2 million for transportation projects
  • Willis Point ISD $42.5…

State Representative Launches High Speed Rail Calculator

What high speed rail data is factored into the calculator?

  • one way fare cost
  • minimum passenger rates at the fare cost to keep high speed rail economically viable
  • financing costs
  • rate of return
  • train capacity
  • revenue
  • income
  • costs for maintenance and operation
  • costs for principle and interest finance
  • costs for shareholder profit

The purpose of the calculator? If high speed rail finances go south, the State of Texas will foot the bill.

Rep. Bell Press Release | BELL LAUNCHES HIGH…

Campaign TREND. 5 trending transportation funding methods.

The Colorado U.S. Senate race features candidates touting new transportation funding mechanisms like:

  • Cut agency costs to spend more money on road construction
  • the federal government should not fund construction on state roads
  • the feds should fund road maintenance of federal roads and return the remainder of gas tax revenues to the states
  • switch to a vehicle miles traveled taxing system
  • expand energy production to public lands and use the tax revenue for transportation

Denver Business…

INTERIM. Sharing Economy. Austin Ride Share Prop. The Numbers Only.

The Winning Side (No on the Austin Proposition):

  • 56% of the vote
  • 17% voter turnout
  • $125,000 Spent
  • $40 cost of finger print background check

 

The Losing Side (Yes on the Austin Ride Share Proposition):

  • 44% of the vote
  • 17% voter turnout
  • $8 Million Spent
  • $223.15 per vote
  • 05/09/2016 the date Uber and Lyft may stop service in Austin

KUT | Proposition 1 Ride-hailing Measure is Soundly Defeated

Statesman | Prop 1 goes down as activist proclaims: ‘Austin made Uber an example’

…

The $2.2 Million + Ride Share Local Election. Ride Share Ordinance Campaign by the Numbers

  • 5 weeks of fundraising left
  • Ride Share Comapnies have contributed $2.2 million
  • 7th of May is election day
  • The cost of Mayor Adler’s campaign: $1.2 million 

Statesman | Uber, Lyft donate nearly $2.2 million to effort to pass Prop. 1 in May

KUT | Uber, Lyft Have Spent More Than $2 Million on Prop 1 Campaign So Far

New Threat to State Transportation Funds- Social Policies vs. Supreme Court Rulings

What state triggered a potential witholding of federal transportation funding? North Carolina

What law sparked this?   a new law that created a mandatory statewide anti-discrimination policy but which impacts gay and transgender rights

What is the rational for the withholding of the funds by the federal government? Whether North Carolina’s law violates the the Constitution and recent Supreme Court rulings; making the state ineligible for federal funding.

NYTimes | North Carolina…

Campaign Trend: Who Opposes High Speed Rail More. 4 Points Informed Intel.

  • The Toth v. Brady Congressional race is a he said/he said brawl over who opposed high speed rail first
  • A Toth mailer says Brady authored & voted for eminent domain for high speed rail as a state representative in 1993
  • Brady says the 1993 bill removed eminent domain from pirvate companies building high speed rail
  • Political scientists call the Toth mailer inaccurate

Your News Houston |  Brady: Toth high-speed rail mailer a ‘lie’

Fox 26 | Eminent Domain Attack advertisement deemed…