CENTERLINE….In June we get to vote on whether or not we want to approve the construction of CenterLine, a light rail system. Now, I happen to think that Orange County is about the worst place you could choose to build light rail, but what really annoys me is the campaign flyer I just got from the pro-CenterLine forces. They give me two reasons to vote in favor:
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CenterLine will not pass through Woodbridge (my neighborhood).
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There’s no cost to Irvine taxpayers. It’s all paid for by the state and the feds, and if we don’t use the money then it will just go somewhere else.
Let’s give conservatives their due: this is the kind of stuff that gives liberals a bad name when it comes to projects like this. Don’t worry, it will only annoy other people, not you! And it’s not real money anyway!
Crikey. It’s real money even if it is federal money. And arguing that if we don’t use it then someone else will ? well, if someone else with a genuine need for light rail gets to use it, that’s fine. Let ’em.
The flyer didn’t even bother to give me a single real reason to vote for CenterLine, just a couple of reasons why I shouldn’t oppose it. Great use of taxpayer dough, guys.
