I-77 tholl spat causes some pro-tholl pols to lose their seats
There was a great lesson for the political ruling class in Mecklenburg County yesterday. Dismiss the people and run roughshod over them AT YOUR OWN POLITICAL PERIL. We have written extensively about the fight in North Mecklenburg to block the installation of tholl booths on I-77 to finance said highway’s expansion. Backroom discussions and deals in Raleigh and in various Mecklenburg County locales ramrodded the deal through over the loud objections of grassroots activists. On Tuesday, tholl opponents got the last word.
Anti-tholl candidates won big throughout the region. Pro-tholl politicians lost big. Huntersville mayor Jill Swain — a backer of the state’s I-77 plan — lost her seat by a 2-to-1 margin to anti-tholl challenger John Anerella. The top three vote-getters in the races for Huntersville council — Danny Phillips, Mark Gibbons, and Rob Kidwell — were all critics of the I-77 tholl plan.
Pro-tholl incumbents Sarah Macaulay and Jeff Neely also lost their bids for reelection to the Huntersville town council. Melissa Bales, who was the top vote getter in the last election cycle, fell to sixth place this year.
In Cornelius, anti-tholl activist Mike Miltich won a council seat.
Anyone out there who moans about how little there is you can do to counter arrogant politicians and bureaucrats needs to take a good look at what the activists with Widen I-77 did the Mecklenburg races last night. A lot of hard work and shoe leather can move mountains.
Folks on the ballot for 2016 — who have been either silent on tholls or proudly defending them — need to seriously take note of what happened last night.
Yep Yep!! No one wants us to go in the direction.
Opponents of the tholls need to keep the ball rolling in the legislative primaries. They need to take down the Big Government Republicans who have supported the tholl plan, starting with Senator ”Pop” Tarte. Never mind that these political weasels are crawfishing like crazy these days. We know which side they have always really been on, and it is not that of the people.
I don’t think Jeff Tharte the tholl rhoads champion has an opponent. What a Lhucky guy, he really doesn’t like those religious vaccine opponent people or you people coming into his office asking questions or disturbing the coffee chit-chats at the Stahhhh-buks. A tendency to push people around like that Etheridge fellow did, what a lucky guy. No opponent. Yes, Jeff Tharte, the “I’ve got me a bill that’s gonna stop global warming, raise your electric bill, and stop the tholl roads” guy. Gosh, some people just have all the LHUCK. You could say he’s just LHUCKED!
I hope readers outside of Mecklenburg County realize that hundreds of millions of their tax dollars will go toward this scam unless McCrory stops it. That $100 million in so-called cancellation penalties is bogus. The contract can be cancelled and little to no penalties incurred if a good attorney negotiates for the state. And last, disclosures about corruption and legal issues involving Ferrovial/Cintra were not provided as requested on contract documents, which should invalidate the contract. If McCrory lets this go through, I can see the Democrats making this a big campaign issue in the Governor race and for other Republicans who enabled this disastrous and corrupt plan.
Taxpayers are on the hook for well over $500 million to bail out this tolling company which is expected to fail in this project. The tolls on I-77 will need to generate more revenue than Houston, L.A. or Atlanta toll lanes to break even. Don’t think that’s going to happen.
You Mecklenburg people need to get a candidate against that liberal Tarte.
Victories for anti-toll candidates are great news, indeed. Good work, patriots!