The other night, I had the opportunity to attend a great event in my hometown of Clarion. It was a wonderful opportunity to say hello to old friends, and to make a few new ones along the way. Plus, I had the chance to see several of my fellow candidates in the race for the Fifth District, and it’s always great to have the chance to exchange stories and learn how others are doing in this very large district.
I have to admit to being upset, though, by one or two of the comments made. For example, one candidate really called into question the commitment we Clarion people have to the anti-tolling movement, basically saying that if we don’t want tolls, we should come up with a “solution” to the highway funding crisis in PA.
Well, I think this shows a very shallow understanding of the I-80 issue. First, our opposition has nothing to do with highway funding. The economic damage tolls will do across Pennsylvania is massive, and probably will cost more in public money than the tolls will raise. We have literally hundreds of millions of public dollars invested in industrial parks, improvements, utilities and the like to support industry using I-80. Most of that goes away if tolls are imposed.
We have secondary roads that will be destroyed by diversion. We have tourism initiatives – on Route 6, for example – representing millions in investment, all ruined if trucks divert to 6 instead of paying tolls on 80. Economically, it’s a nightmare, and I haven’t even talked about the job loss and the private investment loss, and the further declines in population all across northwestern PA. Highway funding has nothing to do with this, and someone who wants to represent the Fifth District should know that.
Further, as the State continues to divert hundreds of millions of dollars from the highway fund to spend on State Police crime investigations and on mass transit in Philadelphia, and on weights and measures, you have to wonder how much of this crisis is generated by Harrisburg’s own misguided decisions. So if these candidates for Congress want to deal with solutions for highway funding, they should consider running for the state house, not the Fifth District Seat.
But you know, even more upsetting (and you can probably tell this annoys me!) were a few of the comments made about our outgoing Congressman, John Peterson. One candidate and the representative of a second both made reference to the need for “better leadership” and a “new age” and the need for the Fifth District to “rise from the ashes” of past leadership.
I have to say, I disagree completely. I personally believe that John Peterson has done an outstanding job, and I truly wish he were running again, and not me. I recognize that the Fifth District has challenges, especially given the way Harrisburg and Washington both look at rural areas – but I think Mr. Peterson has accomplished as much as any single man could to help his District. He certainly has done wonders for rural health care. And, when we talk about I-80, without John Peterson, I suspect we would be paying tolls right now. So I hope the other candidates will excuse me, but I will not be bashing Mr. Peterson on my way to Congress.
Authorized by Friends of John Stroup
