|
 | | | | | | Quote |
"The happy result of this strategy is seriously recession-friendly pricing. It’s possible to eat well at Pitas for under five dollars." -- Ella Mastacabien, Free Times
|
|
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | |
| | Issue #21.35 :: 08/27/2008 - 09/02/2008 | Kevin, Get Over It
Mayor Responds to Column on Bus System Woes
| BY FREE TIMES READERS
| By Bob Coble
I wanted to respond to yet another negative personal attack by Kevin Fisher in last week’s Free Times (City Watch, “The Mayor and the Mess Made of Public Transit,” Aug. 20). Kevin simply cannot get over his defeat in the last mayor’s race. Come on, Kevin, it was the citizens of Columbia who rejected you — not me. Kevin, if Al Gore can get over losing the presidency, even after winning the popular vote, and go on to win a Nobel Peace Prize and an Academy Award, surely you can get over losing a race for mayor of Columbia.
Most of Kevin’s rants against me are the same ones he made in the 2006 campaign for mayor. As I have said before, Kevin ran a very effective campaign for mayor with more than $100,000 worth of skillfully done negative TV ads. Kevin, Joe Azar and I had a series of debates and forums throughout Columbia. The campaign concluded with a live debate on WIS TV. All of the media, from The State to Free Times to all the TV and radio stations, covered the campaign extensively. At the conclusion of the campaign, the voters of Columbia went to the polls and made their decision. The voters of Columbia rejected Kevin and his attacks by more than a two-to-one margin. The voters rejected Kevin’s only proposal — his bizarre obsession to create a memorial for mass murderer and child killer Pee Wee Gaskins at the old CCI site.
The current crisis with our bus system is the result of not having a transportation referendum on the ballot this fall. Richland County and the City of Columbia must work together to establish an interim funding plan for the Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority (CMRTA) until permanent funding can get on the ballot. It is critical that the region have an effective transit system. First, many of our citizens depend on the buses for their daily existence in getting to work, the doctor and the grocery store. Second, the Midlands economy would be devastated if the buses stopped running. Many businesses would have to close if their employees could not get to work on the bus. Third, the CMRTA is an essential environmental tool to prevent pollution and reduce our carbon footprint. Higher gas prices make the bus system more important than ever. There is only one long-term permanent funding for transportation needs of the Midlands and that is a sales tax referendum.
Kevin rages that the city should never have negotiated with SCE&G to release them from the franchise requirement of providing bus service. I would contend, and I think even Kevin would agree, that the old bus system was a disgrace. Public transportation is a public function. Kevin rants that the $71 million agreement the city reached with SCE&G was inadequate. If we had not reached an agreement with SCE&G, there is no doubt that SCE&G would have gone to the South Carolina Legislature to end the franchise obligations, just like the telecommunication and cable industries did. Also, no matter what amount of money was secured from SCE&G, at some point it would run out and a referendum for a sales tax would be necessary.
Columbia is going through the greatest renaissance in its history. Innovista will transform our economy and create high-wage jobs. New hotel rooms are being constructed at a record pace. The Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center and Hilton Hotel are bringing in tourists and conventions. The heart of Columbia, including the riverfront, downtown, Five Points, North Columbia, and Two Notch Road to Read Street, has been revitalized. Private investment, both residential and commercial, has exploded. We have stronger neighborhoods with more residents, more homeowners, and greater home values in Columbia. We have achieved this growth with a commitment to diversity and inclusion. We have launched a new effort, “Together We Can,” to improve our public schools through greater community partnerships. While we have made great progress in Columbia there is much more work to be done. It is time for Kevin to put down his personal ax he grinds every week in Free Times and help do something constructive.
Bob Coble is mayor of Columbia. | |
|
| |
|
| | | | |
| | | | | |
|
|
Comments (0)
