Grassroots Grit: We Can Break the Primary Election Tie

By voting for Perez, we can break the 3-way tie our way

The Democratic gubernatorial primary is critical to the fate of the toll-lane scheme. Per the latest independent poll, Tom Perez, Wes Moore, and Peter Franchot, are virtually tied for the lead, each polling at about 15%.

Of the top candidates, Tom Perez is the most consistently and unambiguously opposed to the toll lane project. He’s strongly endorsed by the Washington Post and the Baltimore Sun.

Perez says, “Maryland needs a balanced approach to transportation…not the Hogan-Franchot plan to widen the beltway and privatize toll lanes.” He says, “… rushing something because a governor’s term ends in January is a recipe for potential disaster that obligates us for decades to come.”

Perez is the most likely of the top candidates to end the toll lane scheme if elected.

This is not single-issue politics. Governor Hogan’s plan touches every aspect of our public lives. In strongly opposing the plan, Perez demonstrates his support for fiscal and environmental responsibility, transparency, economic fairness, future-looking transportation policies, and putting the public interest first.

If we vote for Tom Perez, he can win.

Remember this quote from P. Franchot, the ultimate pro-toll-lane candidate

Peter Franchot explained to an interviewer (see below) that the toll-lane project is a kind of “experiment” (the kind, apparently, that uses billions of realdollars, impacts real lives, and lasts 50 years).

“The key thing is we'll be able to see whether there's any relief of traffic congestion and any real uproar over the tolls. And, you know, we'll be able to without completely turning the area on its head. We're going to be able to test a properly drafted P3 and we'll see how it goes” (Peter Franchot speaking on Everyday Law Podcast, 27:10).

Regarding that “properly drafted P3”, Franchot cast the deciding Board of Public Works vote for the toll lane agreement without insisting on even the basic protection of an independent financial and legal review: careless about the consequences of the project, then and now.

Washington Post, 7/1/22

Marc Elrich is on the right side of the toll-lane issue. Now, he’s under attack

Marc Elrich is the only one of the top candidates for Montgomery County Executive who opposes the toll lane scheme and the tremendous harm it will cause.

Now he’s under attack from big-money PACS. According to Maryland Matters: “A billionaire cofounder of Facebook has invested $500,000 in a new political action committee set up to defeat Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich in the July 19 Democratic primary...”

Another PAC opposing Elrich is “a faux progressive local group” entirely funded by developers.

 

What’s true for Tom Perez is true for Marc Elrich. If we vote for him, he can win.

 ASAP Action Item

 Spread the word about Perez, Elrich, and the other candidates opposed to the toll lane project. Share these links to candidate positions for multiple races: Action Committee for Transit Scorecard and Citizens Against Beltway Expansion Scorecard. See the selected tables we published in our June 12 issue.

 According to the latest gubernatorial poll and the Maryland Matters article here, “More than 60% [of voters] said they were open to choosing a different candidate. Among the likely Democratic voters, 35% said they are undecided, weeks before the July 19 primary.”

 A small number of voters can have an enormous impact in this election. Our grassroots turnout can make all the difference. Every person you educate and persuade can help stop the toll lane scheme.

 

 

MDOT intended to overwhelm; they keep underestimating us

 MDOT dumped its 26,000 page Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) on the public on June 17, allowing only a month for review. Public officials and multiple organizations have asked the federal government to require an extension of the review period, and new requests are going out. The Sierra Club of Maryland is actively engaged in the FEIS response. They’re coordinating the teams of technical and legal subject matter experts reviewing and assessing the material. The Sierra Club is also preparing for a possible legal challenge. Read about likely lawsuits here.

 Right now, the Sierra Club is developing a correspondence tool you can use to send your own message to the federal agencies reviewing the FEIS. Watch for details soon.

 The Sierra Club is our longtime, trusted partner in fighting the toll lane scheme. Please consider donating to the Sierra Club’s Maryland Smart Growth Defense Fund. You can read all about the fund and the fight against the toll lane project here.

Quick Update: 26,000 Pages; A Town Hall You Don’t Want to Miss

Sign up today for virtual town hall meeting on toll-lane news

As MDOT rushes to get its toll-lane scheme approved by the federal government, we need to stay informed about the moving pieces of this harmful plan. To that end, our valued partner, Citizens Against Beltway Expansion (CABE), is hosting a virtual town hall meeting on recent project developments. When: Monday, June 27, at 7 p.m.

Sign up to hear what these speakers have to tell us:

  • Will Jawando, Montgomery County Councilmember

  • Debra Borden, Principal Counsel for the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission

  • Kyle Hart, with the National Parks Conservation Association

Questions? Contact CABE at 495CABE@gmail.com or visit the CABE website.

We knew it was coming: MDOT gives public 30 days to read 26,000+ pages!

Last Friday, MDOT issued the toll-lane project’s Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS). It’s massive; it contains information not previously released to the public. If MDOT has its way, the federal government will issue its final decision on the FEIS and toll-lane project in a month or so. But not so fast, MDOT.

State and local officials and advocacy groups have already called on the U.S. government to require MDOT to redo parts of the environmental review and provide an additional public comment period. Requests have gone to USDOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg, asking for an extension of the FEIS review period and an opportunity for the public to meaningfully engage with information being publicly presented for the first time. And the Sierra Club, on behalf of multiple advocacy and grassroots organizations, is coordinating a technical and legal review of the FEIS by subject matter experts.

Watch for updates about the FEIS and more

We’ll keep you posted about what’s in those 26,000 pages, and about timelines and actions you can take. We’ll also send you updates about the elections. Keep checking Maryland Matters for election news, and see our most recent newsletter for tables of candidate positions on the toll-lane plan.

Key Project Weak Point Revealed in WP’s Latest You’ve-Got-to-Be-Kidding Editorial

This house of cards may be about to collapse. The Washington Post’s 18th editorial touting Larry Hogan’s toll lanes (you have to see the list** to believe it) makes one thing clear. The Governor’s toxic plan will go nowhere unless Maryland elects a new governor who supports it. And the Post shows why that is far from a sure thing.

 

Per the editorial: “Among the 10 candidates running in the gubernatorial primary July 19, most either don’t mention [the toll-lane plan] or are opposed.”

 

We can explain that lack of support.

 

  1. Voters don’t like sky-high tolls, induced congestion, and 50 years of taxpayer subsidies to a profit-driven toll giant.

  2. Smart candidates understand what Governor Youngkin meant by: “Yes, we’re going to take jobs from Maryland into Virginia…And yes, Gov. Hogan, we need you to finish your side of this project.”

  3. Smart candidates don’t want to own the bad deal while Larry Hogan moves on.

 

The Post finds only one “notable exception” to the lack of candidate commitment to the worthless project: “Peter Franchot, who voted for it on the state’s Board of Public Works.” Strikingly, neither here, nor in the editorial endorsing Tom Perez, does the Post have anything more to say about Mr. Franchot’s candidacy.

 

The power to stop this toll-lane plan quickly and efficiently, is clearly in the voters’ hands. With low turnout expected and a crowded gubernatorial field, every vote counts.

 

Read on for election Action Items and position tables. Then see a close up (literally) of what toll lane proponents really intend for us. You’ll also find a preview of MDOT’s next rushed move and what our coalition is doing about it.

 

** Thank you to the Maryland Transportation Opportunities Coalition for the list of 18 Washington Post editorials pushing Gov. Hogan’s plan.

 

 

Action Items

 

Gubernatorial Primary

 

Just a few thousand votes could determine the winner of the Democratic gubernatorial primary on July 19 (early voting July 7-14). The highest vote getter wins, even if he only receives 20% of the vote. With nine people currently in the race and limited independent polling, it’s difficult to know at this point which of the candidates on our side has the best chance.

 

Please note: This is NOT single-issue politics. Larry Hogan’s plan would impact every aspect of our public lives. A candidate who rejects the harmful project signals support for fiscal and environmental responsibility, transparency, economic fairness, healthy communities, and protection of the public interest.

 

According to a Baltimore Sun/University of Baltimore poll from early June (also reported on in Maryland Matters), only three candidates were polling in the double digits: Peter Franchot at 20%; Wes Moore at 15%; Tom Perez at 12%, with a margin of error of 4.7%; over a third of Democrats were undecided.

 

Because there will likely be a lot of movement in the race before voting begins, we need to stay informed:

 

Below is our revised table for top Democratic gubernatorial candidates: Rushern Baker has stepped out of the race; we’ve added notes about Wes Moore. The input for our tables comes from the three organizations listed above and other trusted sources.

 

 * In some settings, Mr. Moore has opposed the toll lane project. But the 8-page transportation platform on his campaign website does not refer to the project or his position.

 

Comptroller, County Executive, and At-Large County Council Primaries

 

What applies for gubernatorial candidates, applies here, too: Any candidate who supports the toll lane plan signals support for the harms that come with it.

 

The following tables are compiled from the sources listed above.

 

THIS is What Toll Lane Proponents Have Planned for Us

 

When Comptroller Peter Franchot cast the deciding vote in 2021 in favor of the toll lane agreement – without insisting on legal and financial analyses – he cast the deciding vote for a world of hurt.

 

Here is one example of what we’re in for if the plan is ever implemented. This pic was taken by MD resident Marsha Bond, heading north on I-495 in VA past the Dulles toll road exit, 6:55 pm on 5/17/22 (focus added). The highway design is the same chosen for MD’s toll lane project.

 


 

 

Note all the congestion in the free lanes. Big rigs and family vehicles jammed together – a known recipe for accidents (p. 83). No inside shoulder for the free lanes (that shoulder was appropriated for the toll lanes). The high-priced toll lanes? Nobody's using them.

Share this pic with anyone claiming the I-270/I-495 plan will provide, as MDOT says, “congestion relief for all.”

 

 

MDOT – on Self-Imposed, Breakneck Schedule – Will Release Project’s Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) on June 17

 

  • MDOT is scrambling to get the toll-lane project approved by the U.S. government and a construction contract OK’d by the Board of Public Works before Larry Hogan leaves office.

  • To that end, MDOT is about to release its ready-or-not FEIS.

  • The federally-mandated FEIS is supposed to be a complete assessment of the project’s impacts on the natural and human environment, including extensive analyses and mitigation plans.

  • The FEIS is supposed to respond to the 5,000 comments MDOT received during the two previous public comment periods. The comments came from government officials, public agencies, technical and legal experts, and many of you.

  • The previous drafts of the EIS were deficient and inaccurate in multiple dimensions.

  • Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, the Rockville Mayor and Council, Prince George’s County mayors, more than 80 members of the General Assembly and a broad coalition of advocacy and grassroots organizations have called on the U.S. government to require MDOT to redo parts of the environmental review and provide an additional public comment period.

  • Read the letter from Rockville Mayor Newton and Councilmembers Ashton, Miles, Feinberg and Pierzchala to USDOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

  • DontWiden270.org will keep you updated on the FEIS and USDOT response.