FOLLOWUP: Audrey Scott Opposes the Gas Tax
About a week ago, former Maryland GOP Chair Audrey Scott attended a rally that included a number of gas tax supporters showing her opposition to raiding the transportation fund. The local media added her to the name of people in support of the gas tax. Not so, says Scott. She released the following statement on the matter:
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
It has come to my attention that there is an effort underway to discredit and misrepresent my attendance at an event in Annapolis last week. I think it is important to tell you the facts of the situation.
Last Thursday there was a rally at Lawyers Mall to protest the perpetual raiding of the Transportation Trust Fund by Governors to benefit the State's general operating budget. Since our State requires a balanced budget, Governors have repeatedly raided the Trust Fund for cash (so they don’t have to cut the budget).
Unfortunately, Gov. O'Malley has not repaid the Trust Fund, instead he wants to use it's depletion as a gimmick to gain the public's approval to raise taxes. In other words, to use the revenue from the new taxes to fill up the Trust Fund (which he will then raid again and again and again).
Who suffers? We do. The Transportation Trust Fund is used to pay for road and bridge construction and repairs of which much goes directly to Counties and Municipalities. There has not been a new road or bridge project in the Transportation Trust Fund for 2 years, and every existing project in the Trust Fund has been pushed back indefinitely. Our State is now sitting on a ticking time bomb – to the tune of $1.5 billion in urgent road and bridge repairs.
As a former Mayor and County Councilwoman, I know firsthand that cessation of transportation projects in our state is 1) a public safety issue and 2) has driven multiple companies out of business and thousands of workers into unemployment.
Republicans in the Legislature are in the process of introducing legislation to enforce that Transportation Trust Fund dollars must be used to finance transportation projects. I strongly support this legislation.
My goal in attending the event was to support the Republican Trust Fund legislation. We must put the "Trust back in the Trust Fund."
Some people are stating that my support to put the "trust back in the Trust Fund" means that I support a gas tax. This is dishonest and wrong. I do not support tax increases. I support cutting the budget. Period.
Supporting the Trust Fund does not mean you support a gas tax. I reject these kind of "gotcha politics" and it has no place in our Party and has no place in the race for National Committeewoman.
Rather, we need to focus our attention on fighting the Democrats … not each other!
I will confront any distortions about my record or my actions head on and I welcome your phone call to answer any of your questions.
Sincerely,
Audrey E. Scott
I'm glad she issued this clarification. As I said in my original post:
Scott needs to clarify her participation in this event and, frankly, should not be supporting a gas tax hike. Period.
To me, this clarifies her position and sounds as though she opposes the gas tax hike. I for one am glad to hear it.
HT to Mark Newgent
Ambrose Supports Open Primaries
Since I criticized Scott yesterday, I'll bring up this regarding her opponent in the bid for Republican National Committeewoman from Maryland. Nicolee Ambrose supports open primaries in Maryland. Here's the quote:
The foremost thing to understand about my run for National Committee Woman is that I don’t feel that I should be one of three votes that decides everything for the MD GOP. For an issue such as voting in primaries, I believe whether or not they are open to Independents should only be decided by the vote of an entire MD GOP Convention = all of the Central Committee members from all of Maryland’s counties.
If you are asking for my personal opinion, I think we would have a net gain by allowing I’s to vote in the GOP primaries. Given the disparity in voter registration favoring Dems, I think any measure that engages "out-party" voters and generates excitement in the GOP is beneficial. (Please note, I would feel quite differently if we lived in a state like NH or SC, where we were blessed with an engaged electorate that had significant weight in determining the nation’s GOP Presidential Candidate.) Minimally in Maryland, I think a party-wide discussion of this issue - its pros & cons - and other possible strategies to attract newly affiliated GOP voters is all desirable.
Generating excitement for the GOP is one thing; allowing people who are not members of the party to vote in our primary is another entirely. I disagree with this on a fundamental level. First, what's the incentive for joining the Republican Party if you can vote in the primary as an Independent? One of the draws of affiliating is the fact that you can vote in a primary. Take that incentive away and we may actually see a drop in membership.
Secondly, what benefit have open primaries wrought in other states? We've seen the rise of candidates who are outside the norm of the party faithful. We see candidates who would not support the general party platform succeeding in the primary. We see the potential for a standard bearer who does not represent the mindset of the average party member. It becomes worse if we allow Democrats to vote in the Republican primary as well.
I support closed primaries, everywhere, but starting here at home we should keep them that way. Both this and the gas tax support from Audrey Scott are problematic to me. But, there is a difference. The first is a difference in policy - party positions rarely have an impact on policy. The second is a function of how the party operates. That one has a direct bearing on an internal party position, therefore will have a greater bearing on whom I'd be ready to support for this position.
Former MD GOP Chair Pro-Gas Tax?
In Annapolis there was a rally in favor of raising state revenue through a gas tax in order to raise transportation funds. Who was in attendance? Some Democratic leaders, some members of the Chamber of Commerce, and Audrey Scott. Who's Audrey Scott? The most recent former Chair of the Maryland Republican Party.
Here's an excerpt from the piece, specifying Scott's role:
Shaking gas cans with only a dime inside, members of a coalition backing new revenues for transportation rallied in front of the statehouse Thursday to launch a tough battle for tax increases.
Representatives from the Greater Baltimore Committee, the Greater Washington Board of Trade and the Maryland Chamber of Commerce participated in a rally that drew Democrats and Republicans...Former Maryland Republican Party chairwoman Audrey Scott also attended, agreeing with other supporters that infrastructure is the key to economic growth and jobs. Scott also accentuated the need to safeguard transportation money, which too often has been tapped by governors from several administrations to plug other budget holes.
“They can’t raid the money that’s coming into the Transportation Trust Fund,” Scott said. “It’s got to be there for transportation needs.”
I'll be honest - this is outrageous to me if she's clearly pro-gas tax. Obviously, we need to stop raiding the transportation to fill in budget holes. That's a given. What's not a given is that we need to raise taxes in order to raise transportation revenue. How about, instead, we stop building bridges we can not afford and seriously cut spending elsewhere so the transportation fund does not get raided to balance the budget. But, I digress.
Scott is currently running for Republican National Committeewoman against former Young Republican National Federation Chair Nicolee Ambrose. Scott had done some good things for the state party in the past. On the other side, Ambrose has a record of getting things done and helping Republicans across Maryland and nationally. Scott needs to clarify her participation in this event and, frankly, should not be supporting a gas tax hike. Period.
All this said - we still need to Stop the Gas Tax. Contact your legislator on this issue.
HT to Hillary of Purple Elephant Politics
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