In the perverted world of California transportation, two facts can't be denied.
First: Our streets and highways are in horrible condition and need at least $296 billion during the next five years for already ignored construction and repair projects; a reported 87 percent of road pavement is rated as “at risk” or “poor.”
Second: Politicians in Sacramento routinely refuse to prioritized transportation spending in favor of social programs; To the chagrin of Republicans, the Democrat-controlled legislature has proposed an upcoming $168 billion budget with a measly $2 billion for roads when experts say the state should be spending at least $8 billion annually.
While Gov. Jerry Brown is calling for a special session to address the problem that may result in the imposition of new taxes, two prominent California Republican Party activists have been engaged in a Twitter war on the topic: Orange County's Jon Fleischman and Dana Reed of Indian Wells.
]
Both influential men have made their mark over the decades on state politics. Fleischman is publisher of the conservative FlashReport, onetime spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff's Department and former vice chairman of the state GOP. Reed is a city councilman, lawyer, political consultant, ex-Orange County transportation official and member of the state GOP's governing board.
Non-Republicans may believe all Republicans march in lockstep, but Fleischman and Reed have adopted opposing views on how to tackle the transportation nightmare. Fleischman wants the state to use existing tax revenue; Reed insists new revenue sources–like tollways and special taxes–are needed.
On June 22, Fleischman published this remark:
The exchanges didn't change minds:
Follow OC Weekly on Twitter @ocweekly or on Facebook!
Email: rs**********@oc******.com. Twitter: @RScottMoxley.
CNN-featured investigative reporter R. Scott Moxley has won Journalist of the Year honors at the Los Angeles Press Club; been named Distinguished Journalist of the Year by the LA Society of Professional Journalists; obtained one of the last exclusive prison interviews with Charles Manson disciple Susan Atkins; won inclusion in Jeffrey Toobin’s The Best American Crime Reporting for his coverage of a white supremacist’s senseless murder of a beloved Vietnamese refugee; launched multi-year probes that resulted in the FBI arrests and convictions of the top three ranking members of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department; and gained praise from New York Times Magazine writers for his “herculean job” exposing entrenched Southern California law enforcement corruption.