Deeds open to tax increase for transportation
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Ask the candidate : Creigh Deeds
Ask the candidate : Creigh Deeds
BOB BROWN/TIMES-DISPATCH
Deeds in 2008 voted to support a statewide Senate transportation plan that included an increase in the state gas tax.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate R. Creigh Deeds today said that if the General Assembly passed a bill to fund the state’s transportation needs that included an increase in taxes, he would sign it.
But the state senator from Bath County said he would not sign a transportation bill that took money from education or other “general fund priorities” to fund the plan.
“People can look at my record and know that I’m willing to make tough choices,“ Deeds said during a live, online chat on TimesDispatch.com.
Deeds in 2008 voted to support a statewide Senate transportation plan that included an increase in the state gas tax.
Deeds was asked: “If you’re governor and you get a bill that funds transportation in some form of either general or non-general fund tax increase, will you sign it?“
Deeds responded by saying he is committed to working with the next General Assembly to “get past the obstructionist viewpoints that have blocked progress on the issue” and build consensus “around a series of ideas that allow us to fund transportation. Ad yes, I will sign that bill.
“What I will do and what I’ll commit to do right now is work with whomever is in the General Assembly after January. Because we’ve got to get past the obstructionist viewpoints that have blocked progress on the issue of transportation. What I will do is work with Democrats and Republicans to build consensus around a series of ideas that allow us to fund transportation, and yes, I will sign that bill.
“What I will not do is take money away from existing general fund priorities,“ Deeds added.
“My opponent has released a plan that takes $5.4 billion, essentially out of education over the next 10 years. You won’t see me with that kind of approach. Democrats and Republicans alike have said that kind of approach is dead on arrival,“ Deeds continued.
Republican candidate Bob McDonnell has proposed a dozen mechanisms to fund transportation, including privatization of ABC stores and placing tolls on Interstate 85 and 95 to be paid by drivers entering the commonwealth from North Carolina.
“My plan will work because I’ll bring people together around a series of ideas that I think can get transportation resolved,“ Deeds added.
“What those ideas are, that’s going to be the question that we have to develop a consensus around the idea of transportation. I’ll sign a bill that funds transportation. I won’t take money away from existing priorities. I won’t take money away from education.“
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Please continue the discussion on this updated article:
Thanks for your interest,
John Witt
Multimedia Editor
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Cowgirl,
Repubs have the House, Dems control the Senate.
RT-D is such a Republican paper. Deeds said he would sign a General Assembly bill to fund transporation even if the effect of the bill was an increase in taxes. I believe the General Assembly in VA is still controlled by . . . the Republicans! So who in this situation would be open to a tax increase? You got it, the Republicans. RT-D will slant their news and editorials to get Republicans elected no matter what.
lips, we pay too much? Check your facts. Virgina has the 10th lowest gas tax in the country at 19 cents per gallon (meaning 40 states have higher taxes). When you move, I suggest you move to California with their 39 cents tax. Then you’ll really have a reason to whine. Increasing our gas tax, say 5 cents will still only put us about 25th in the country. I applaud Deeds for being honest and bringing real solutions to the table.
We somehow manage to cover tolls here on the Southside. If you use a road, why not pay for it. Or maybe government is actually useful for some things…like roads and schools…and maybe decent health care so people won’t die or become homeless due to a pre-existing condition that their health insurance company won’t cover?
Posted by ( Jer1234 ) on August 12, 2009 at 9:52 pm
How about this - Quit building roads, just fix the existing ones.
A very good idea. As is high-speed rail, as each passenger (or two) removes one car from our overburdened highways.
As is moving freight by rail, which removes lethal, guzzling, and polluting tractor-trailers. Which, not incidentally, are responsible for all of the damage to our roads and bridges.
We call that win-win.
Raising my taxes will force me to leave the state. We already pay too much. Wreckless overspending isn’t the problem, raise taxes? Good luck, it’s a death sentence.
J-Reb - Before you call the idea of a 10/12 lane I-95 south of DC “stupid”, may I invite you to experience the Commonwealth’s largest parking lot virtually any afternoon, including weekends, after 3PM. It’s not an issue of the highway drawing traffic - the traffic is already there…growing…and going nowhere fast. Even if there was a fast rail service available, not everyone works in DC and could benefit from the service. Some of us work in areas where mass transit isn’t an option. I-95 handles virtually all north-south traffic through VA. Causing all of this traffic to go through the DC metro area is what I would call stupid, nevertheless, that’s the way the road system was constructed. If the government wants to construct a limited access alternative that by-passes DC (and maybe Baltimore too) for north-south traffic, then let I-95 stay the way that it is.
How about this - Quit building roads, just fix the existing ones. That way all you people who live in Tideqater and NOVA can put up with the mess you created. You wanted to live there in your condos and high rises. I don’t and I don’t drive the roads that go there. How about we just toll all the entrances to NOVA and Tidewater and let those people who want to go there pay for the usage of those roads. Why should all the rest of us pay for your new roads when we avoid these areas like the plaque. I don’t go to the beach if I do I got to the Outer Banks. Better parking and less commercialization. If I want to go to a museum they are here in Richmond. It does no good to go to DC to see my Congressman because he won’t listen to me anyway that is why I didn’t vote for the 2 of them. So pay for your own new roads and leave my taxes alone. I liked the special taxing district idea that was proposed a few years ago. Tax them and let them keep thier money. Let them pay their own way.
heroin is to a junkie as tax money is to a politician…
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