State taking risk by asking for rail study
Gov. Ted Strickland's administration will risk political defeat next week when it asks skeptical lawmakers to approve a $25 million study of passenger rail service linking Ohio's major cities, the state transportation director said yesterday.
On Wednesday, Rep. Jay Hottinger, a Newark Republican who sits on the Controlling Board, urged in a letter to Jolene Molitoris, the state transportation director, to hold off on the study. Moving forward now with a party-line vote would "poison the well for future discussion" and endanger the possibility of five votes for future expenditures, Hottinger wrote.
We, the voter, would ask our representatives to vote against this study, the train and any idea of the state taking on the cost, the responsibilties and further invasion into private commerce.
Strickland's train is a losing idea that is costly and will not meet the estimates of ridership because the train cannot rise to the expectations of a government that first praises what it wants and then condemns others when it fails.
Keep up the good work Jay. Stop the spending. Stop the taxing. Stop the government from getting any fatter off our dime.
