In the words of Michigan’s Governor Gretchen Whitmer, “Fix the damn roads!” And this is directed to the COUNTY.
By no means should the COUNTY ever rely on any input from the CITY in this regard, considering the absolutely disgusting revisions to the streets of Ladd Lane and Southside Road. Imagine spending $600,000 to create such a debacle!
Is there no end to the waste of thousands of dollars by the City of Hollister? That atrocious sign downtown and the horrific roadway on Ladd Lane and Southside Road? Who is responsible for these shameful expenditures?
Jane Dabo Cruz
Hollister
Dear Friends,
Good question. Do the voters of SBC elect those who make the transport policy decisions for SBC? Answer: No. Transport policy decisions are made by appointed “directors” to the stand-alone entity of government called SBC Council of Government. So, if voters are unhappy with bad transport policy decisions, we’re stuck. The constitutional remedy of recall by the voters applies only to those elected to office. That’s the law. So, there are three “directors” from the County Election Districts, so the voters in two Districts have no voice even if an appointed “director.” Thus, the constitutional right to due process and equal protection are constantly violated for two of the County’s Districts’ citizens. Result: Bad transport policy, unsound and unsustainable. COG’s #1 Top Priority is empty bus seat transport. The say it’s “essential,” and I say it’s not. If they had to spend their own money to do it they wouldn’t, but since they spend our gas tax and other taxes and fees, they feather their nest while motorists, self-sufficient motorists, pay 102% of our transport costs, and 99% of transit riders’ costs. If COG was a horse, we’d do the humane thing and terminate it. If the leadership in the Assembly was beholden to the taxpayers, transit would have been privatized long ago. Powerful vested interests control the Assembly, not us. Caveat viator. Joseph P. Thompson, Esq., Charter-Member, SBCCOG Citizens Transit Task Force; Charter-Member SBCCOG Citizens Rail Advisory Committee; Past-Chair, Legislation Committee, Transportation Lawyers Assn.; post-doc student transport law and policy, Norman Y. Mineta International Institute for Surface Transportation Policy Studies, SJSU; Transportation Research Board, Georgetown U.; and Library of Congress; 408-848-5506; E-Mail: [email protected] PS: Q.: Which entity of governance in SBC voted in favor of the Bullet Train? A.: Not the Supervisors, who voted against Prop. 1A in 2008.