Apr 22 2008
Gubernatorial Candidates Against Tax Increases for Roads
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Urban drivers are stuck in traffic. Rural residents are waiting for their local highway to get a needed widening. By one estimate, North Carolina is $65 billion short of the money it needs to fix those road woes and the many others that will pop up in the next 20 years.
But none of the major-party candidates for governor are eager to impose new taxes or fees to make up the difference. Instead, in recent surveys and interviews with The Associated Press, they said their demands of accountability and improvements in bureaucratic efficiency will be enough to start North Carolina down the path to reclaiming its place as the “Good Roads State.”
“Before we start talking about any more holes to fill, I want to get that thing running as lean as possible, where people can trust that the money that’s going there is being spent wisely,” said State Treasurer Richard Moore, one of the Democratic candidates. “I don’t think people think that today.”
They have good reason to not think that way today. The state Department of Transportation has been rife with wasted tax dollars and misplaced priorities. There is more political influence involved rather than where the actual needs are. The board members need to be replaced. Lyndo Tippett needs to be replaced and politics need to be removed from the system.
