Governor Lincoln Chafee has decided not to run for re-election next year. Beyond all the other implications of this decision, it has the potential to drastically change the Sakonnet Toll issue. The primary supporter of tolls will not be Governor after next year, nor a candidate in the 2014 campaign. There are three ways this could benefit the united effort to eliminate destructive tolls on the Sakonnet River Bridge.
First, there is an opportunity in the 2014 primaries to support only candidates who oppose SRB tolls. This is why it's crucial to form a united electorate committed to turning out to vote in 2014 and support only anti-toll candidates.We need to get all candidates to take a clear stand on the issue, and make sure all voters know which candidates will stand with the people of the East Bay.
Second, as the committee charged with considering alternatives to tolls and a Statewide process of funding bridge maintenance begins to meet, the equation has been altered. With the primary proponent of imposing this unfair tax on East Bay residents and businesses no longer a candidate, it's time to maximize efforts to convince those on the committee, and our Senate and House leadership, that there is no upside to supporting these tolls. This committee is the ideal opportunity to correct a bad situation. and responsibly fund bridge maintenance in a way that treats all Rhode Islanders equally.
And third, this presents an opportunity to persuade Governor Chafee that however well-intentioned this toll plan might have been, it's also the most unfair, inefficient, and destructive means to address the maintenance issue. With a year left in office, surely he doesn't want this divisive and wrongheaded toll plan to be his lasting legacy with an entire region of RI, any more than State and House leaders do. Supporting a non-toll maintenance process that is uniform statewide would solve two problems and remove this contentious issue.
This Sakonnet Toll process has been a maddening and frustrating one. The absolute promise of the State not to consider tolls on the replacement bridge was simply disregarded, the unfairness of targeting only one region with tolls disregarded, the near-unanimous opposition of residents and businesses ignored.
The bridge belongs to us, the people of RI who paid for it, and we must not accept our elected representatives handing control of it over to a quasi-public agency whose primary concern is covering their operating budget. Tolls are a betrayal of the people, and a bad deal for all except the RI Turnpike & Bridge Authority. The time is now to correct course and devise a bridge-maintenance plan that will solve the problem without creating worse ones.
Brian Medeiros
Tiverton, RI
http://www.providencejournal.com/breaking-news/content/20130904-r.i.-governor-chafee-will-not-seek-re-election-poll.ece
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