Please see the attached. Dr. Harry Messenheimer will represent the Foundation at this event. Don't let this boondoggle roll down the tracks without voters having the final say!
Paul J. Gessing
President
Rio Grande Foundation
P.O. Box 2015
Tijeras, N.M., 87059
505-264-6090
For Immediate Release -- Wednesday, November 15, 2006
For further Information, Contact: Silvio Dell'Angela at 296-3241 or 620-4580
Outraged Citizens Rally to Demand Final Say on Albuquerque Streetcar
"Chavez Six" Rammed Costly System Down Taxpayers' Throats
(Albuquerque, New Mexico) On Election Day-eve, despite the opposition of dozens of citizens who spoke out against the proposed $270 million streetcar, six Albuquerque City Council members voted to extend a soon-to-expire gross receipts tax hike that was narrowly enacted by voters in 1999. Albuquerque residents, some of them concerned about the project's significant price tag and some concerned with the Council's blatant power-grab, are holding a public rally to express their outrage this Sunday, November the 19th at 2:30pm at La Cueva High School auditorium (located at 7801 Wilshire Blvd. NE).
Taking part in the rally will be City Counselors (and "no" voters on the trolley project) Donald Harris, Brad Winter, and Michael Cadigan. Several representatives of neighborhood coalitions from throughout the City and a representative of the Rio Grande Foundation, which has provided a great deal of intellectual ammunition for opponents of this project, will be in attendance.
The grassroots coalition opposing the streetcar project has organized itself under the moniker SWAT, or "Stop Wasting Albuquerque Taxes." As Silvio Dell'Angela, the leader of SWAT points out, "The coalition is exploring all available options including challenging the legality of a simple majority vote to raise taxes and organizing a referendum drive to collect signatures and put this issue on the ballot."
While the SWAT Coalition began organizing a grassroots campaign immediately after Council's vote late Monday, the Rio Grande Foundation denounced the plan on the pages of the Albuquerque Journal prior to the vote. Among the Foundation's arguments is the fact that for a fraction of the cost of building a streetcar ($35 million vs. $270 million) Albuquerque operates its entire bus system covering the entire city, not just a few miles of Central Avenue.
Also, while supporters of this project often point to Portland as an example of what rail transit can do, that City cannot be compared with Albuquerque. In fact, as the Foundation points out, "Albuquerque is only 60 percent as dense as Portland and our metro area has only 40 percent as many people as does Portland's (797,000 vs. 2 million)."
As Rio Grande Foundation President Paul Gessing pointed out, "From the looks of the Journal's letters pages, if the streetcar issue were to go to voters, it would lose in a landslide." One letter-writer even began her statement of opposition to the streetcar, saying "While I do not endorse the small government principles of the Rio Grande Foundation, I could not agree more with them (on the streetcar)." Clearly, voters would like to have the final say on this issue.
Mr. Dell'Angela summed up the problems many citizens have with the process under which Council has considered the streetcar, saying, "The first public meeting was September 20th and 6 weeks later we have a $270 million project rolling down the tracks? Not even roadrunners move that fast in New Mexico!"
What can you do if you can't make it to the rally?
1. Write and/or call the three councilors who voted against this and thank them for voting to save you a few bucks in taxes.
Brad Winter -- District 4
Diana Trujeque, Staff Assistant -- 505-768-3101
Michael Cadigan -- District 4
Diana Trujeque, Staff Assistant -- 505-768-3101
Don Harris -- District 9
Lorena Patten-Quintana, Staff Assistant -- 505-768-3123
2. Write and/or call the Gang of Six and Slick Marty Chavez, telling them exactly where to stick the streetcar project. Points of contact below:
Martin Chavez, Mayor -- 505-768-3000
Ken Sanchez -- District 1
Elaine Romero, Staff Assistant -- 505-768-3183
Debbie O'Malley -- District 2
Kelly Sanchez-Pare, Staff Assistant -- 505-768-3159
Isaac Benton -- District 3
Kara Shair-Rosenfield, Staff Assistant -- 505-768-3186
Martin Heinrich, Council President -- District 6
Javier Benavidez, Staff Assistant -- 505-768-3152
Sally Mayer -- District 7
George Marquez , Staff Assistant -- 505-768-3136
Craig Loy -- District 8
Michael L. McCan, Staff Assistant -- 505-768-3106