Adam asked in comments for some background on Mike Krusee. Here it is:
In 2000, Capital Metro was preparing for a push for light-rail on a corridor which, on objective measures, was the best suited for an urban rail starter line in this city. It would have hit all three major attractors, ran through the densest residential neighborhoods, and hit the big suburban park-and-rides. The FTA loved this line. It would have given transit service to Leander as well as urban Austin, and it would have been competitive enough with the car to be a successful starter line for a future rail network, based on similar experience in cities like Dallas, Denver, Portland, and Salt Lake City.
Mike Krusee did not like this.
Capital Metro was, in my opinion based on our meetings with them at the time, preparing for an election in 2001, possibly in May.
Mike Krusee did not like this.
Virtually none of Capital Metro’s constituents are in Mike Krusee’s district.
This did not stop Mike Krusee.
Mike Krusee forced an election in November, 2000 on light rail. This was:
- Too early – Capital Metro hadn’t finished figuring out what roads it would run on, or how much support there would be for various parts of the route (for instance, in retrospect, running on South Congress was a non-starter and should have been dropped, but there wasn’t time to figure this out well enough beforehand; others complained that it was impossible to evaluate the proposal since CM still had five or six proposed routes through downtown).
- Bad timing – Dubya was running for President, which pulled in a disproportionate number of suburban voters disinclined to give transit a chance.
That election failed, by the closest margin ever seen in a rail ballot. In fact, it passed inside Austin, and passed overwhelmingly in central Austin. The cities now viewed as light-rail success stories generally had to run multiple votes after their first vote failed by a much larger margin than did Austin’s. This should have demonstrated a mandate in favor of rail, within the city limits of Austin.
This wasn’t enough for Mike Krusee.
He then wrote a bill which was passed by the state Legislature which required that Capital Metro only hold rail elections in November of even-numbered years (basically stacking the deck against transit – common local issue elections typically happen in May and would draw out people more interested in local issues than national ones; Krusee forced the reverse).
Again keep in mind that most of Mike Krusee’s constituents do not pay taxes to Capital Metro.
This restriction was not placed on transit systems in general (i.e. Dallas’ DART system, Houston’s METRO system, or proposed VIA rail system in San Antonion). It was placed only on Capital Metro.
The people of Austin demonstrated they wanted rail, and Mike Krusee made sure they wouldn’t get it.
Now, fast forward to 2004. The guiding force behind Capital Metro’s switch to commuter rail is….. Mike Krusee. Capital Metro is understandably scared to death of Mike Krusee, since he holds some powerful levers at the State. Mike Krusee wants commuter rail instead of urban rail, and that’s what Capital Metro is giving him.
Why does Mike Krusee support this plan? Take a look at the long-range plan. Where does the second commuter rail line go?
Round Rock and Georgetown.
Where do Mike Krusee’s constituents live?
Round Rock and Georgetown.
Who doesn’t pay Capital Metro taxes?
Round Rock and Georgetown.
Who DOES pay 93% of Capital Metro taxes?
Those Dirty Hippies In Urban Austin.
Who gets NO RAIL under the All Systems Go plan? Not with the starter line, not with the full system, (and definitely NOT with wink-wink we-don’t-mention-it-but-we’re-gonna-give-it-to-you light rail, since if you’ve been reading my blog, you know that it’s precluded by the construction of this commuter rail system)?
Those Dirty Hippies In Urban Austin.
Mike Krusee is not a friend of Austin. He’s not a friend of Capital Metro. He’s not a friend of rail transit. He’s getting transit service for his constituents (who don’t pay) at the expense of the people of Austin who have been consistently demanding urban rail service for decades. Yes, at the expense of the same people who consisently subsidize suburban sprawl through property taxes, sales taxes, and gas taxes. People in Austin now get to pay for BOTH the roads AND the transit of Round Rock, while they get nothing more than a glorified express bus for the actual sensible rail corridor in Austin.
This is why I don’t like Mike Krusee.
Any questions?
None. Well, maybe one: what can we (meaning I) do about this? I’d like to see urban — effective — rail in Austin, and soon. Much like you, I’ve gathered.
Mike Krusee is kicking your ass. You sound bitter, are you bitter?
If you want to get rid of Krusee, come volunteer for my campaign. I am running as a write in candidate against Mike in Southern Williamson County. I need volunteers at the polls to hand out my flyers showing people how to vote for me!!