#ncga [Think Jeff Tarte is going to help you stop tolls? HERE’S your sign.]
Senator Jeff Tarte has been great for this site. We pride ourselves on calling out arrogance and indifference among the 
political elite. We pride ourselves on catching politicians saying one thing to their voters, and doing another when they get to work. Ol’ Jeff is a gift that keeps on giving.
This week, Tarte made an appearance with WBT radio host Mark Garrison to talk about the issue of tolling drivers on I-77 in Northern Mecklenburg County.
Early on in this
story, Tarte was right there with Pat McCrory and Thom Tillis as the heavy-handed tactics to install toll roads were implemented. Stories began to emerge about problems the toll contractor was having on similar projects in other states. We also got word about potentially how expensive this could become for area commuters. Local governments adjacent to the proposed project began passing resolutions in opposition to the toll plan. Major businesses in the region called a summit to express their displeasure with the proposed project. As the grassroots opposition started to really mount, Tarte began to mouth some platitudes aimed at keeping the angry mob at bay.
On the radio this week, Garrison took notice of how wishy-washy Tarte was sounding on the toll issue:
“It sounds like you’re doing a little duck and cover. ‘Hey, if you beat down my door, I’ll file the bill. If you don’t beat my door down, I won’t do it.’
That got the senator talking tough:
”If the municipalities in the Lake Norman area and county, as well as a number of significant businesses make a request, I’ll file the bill.”
Garrison noted that had already happened, but Tarte was already headed in another direction:
”I’m not going to take the positions to stop a project that has already been approved. That wouldn’t be appropriate.”
Tarte said there would be a “remote chance” legislation halting the toll project would be successful, which prompted Garrison to comment:
“You really don’t sound like you have your heart in it, actually.”
Tarte fired back:
“It doesn’t make a lot of sense when you’ve got 80 percent of the population saying we want the tolls , then you’ve got a loud group of 200 people who say no we don’t. That’s not the way you run a democracy.”
Garrison tried to pin Tarte down on where he got the “80 percent” statistic. The senator responded, after some stammering and stuttering:
”You’re not seeing any Moral Monday rallies around this.”
Tarte brought up the old saw about ”no funds” being available for road construction. (He neglected to get into the long-term robbery of the highway trust fund, or any plans to put a stop to future robbery of said fund.)
The senator closed with this jewel:
“The probability of this changing is very slim. Calling this a long shot is an optimistic view.”
If you think this guy is honestly going to help you stop this toll project, you REALLY need to get your head out of the sand. (And get your sign.)
Tarte is one liberal Republican who seems to really be begging for a primary. I hope the I-77 citizens group makes that wish come true, and Tarte will be on the outside looking in come next session.
And while he was out there working to raise local tolls, if memory serves, he was also working to raise citizens electric bills by supporting expensive and unreliable renewable energy.
LOL WUT? His source for support for toll roads is the un-reverend Willie Barber? smdh
Article: “Tarte brought up the old saw about ”no funds” being available for road construction. ”
It’s simply dishonest to take tons of money from NC taxpayers for the expressed purposes of roads and highways, blow all that money on a crazy mixture of incompentence, corruption, waste, fraud, and abuse… and then turn around and claim you dont have enough money to do the jobs that were supposed to have been done.
I’m not philosophically opposed to toll roads, but ya gotta pick “one” method of financing (fleecing), and go with it. 🙂
Also, as an aside…. “That’s not the way you run a democracy.”
Huh? I thought the point of a representative democracy was that representatives were hired to use their own judgements on issues – if you’re just going to use poll numbers to decide what your position is, then really – not a whole lot of point to you, then. *shrug*
I want my next state senator Who will be replacing The breakfast pastry “pop Tarte” in the next election to fight for me. To hell with what the towns want they’re just as prone to abusing us as the state and federal fouckers are. Pop Tarte thinks we’re a democracy. Did he get his history lesson out of a cracker jack box?