News breaking yesterday that U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood had given Florida one more week to gets its high-speed rail act together before sending $2.4 billion in funding elsewhere -- and that the decision to grant another extension had been based upon a face-to-face meeting with and request for more information from Gov. Rick Scott -- led to a great deal of speculation as to who might have said what to Gov. Scott to soften his opposition.
I myself wondered what may have happened, and came up with a few theories, though I posted on my Facebook page that I was not optimistic Scott would really be moved.
My pessimistic view of Scott was confirmed this morning when I saw the lead headline in the print version of The St. Petersburg Times:
Rail gets one more week
Followed by the subhead:
Gov. Scott says he didn't ask LaHood for extra time and his answer will still be no
Follow below the fold for the details.
According to a sidebar in the print version of The Times, LaHood released the following statement at 2:02 p.m. Friday:
This morning I met with Governor Rick Scott to discuss the high-speed rail project that will create jobs and economic development for the entire state of Florida. He asked me for additional information about the state's role in this project, the responsibilities of the Florida Department of Transportation, as well as how the state would be protected from liability. I have decided to give Governor Scott additionaly time to review the agreement crafted by local officials from Orlando, Tampa, Lakeland and Miami, and to consult with his staff at the state Department of Transportation. He has committed to making a final decision by the end of next week. I feel we owe it to the people of Florida, who have been working to bring high-speed rail to their state for the last 20 years, to go the extra mile.
At 4:30 p.m., The Times says, staff writer Alex Leary was able to contact Gov. Scott to ask him about his take on the meeting. The results are exactly the kind of smarmy B.S. I would have expected from the man I like to call "Rick the Dick:"
So what's going on here?
"I think the project is a project that he'd [LaHood] like to have happen, and they haven't been able to show me how the state of Florida taxpayers are not on the hook."
So why not just say no to him? Why not just say "thank you for your consideration and time but this is my stance?"
"I'm probably too respectful. I always try to respect people. But in the end, my position remains the same. They're going to have to make sure I'm very comfortable that there's no risk to the taxpayers of the state."
Nice, huh? Gov. Scott gave LaHood the impression he might still be open to the project even though he really isn't because he's "just too respectful" of people. Which really showed in his false attacks on Alex Sink and his refusal to meet with any newspaper's editorial board during the campaign, not mention his attitude towards President Obama. Heck, he's just too darn nice to just come out and say "no" when meeting face-to-face with a fellow Republican who heads a federal agency.
As for making Rick Scott "very comfortable that there's no risk to the taxpayers of the state," it's bunk. He's already been shown, over and over again, that there's no risk to Florida taxpayers. And he refused to wait for the results of a ridership study due out in March, or bid proposals from the eight consortiums vying for the project which would have detailed the level of risk they're willing to take.
That's because the only "facts" Rick Scott is "comfortable" with are those which confirm his narrow-minded oligarch's view of the world.
All of this was made clear in an editorial published in Friday's Times, Facts don't faze Scott's world:
Scott based his objections on points originally raised in a study by a libertarian think tank, all of which hinged on flawed facts and assumptions: that the state would be forced to absorb startup and operating losses, and that Florida might have to repay the federal money if the system went bust. But the deal called on the state to contract with a private bidder to build and operate the line. The private contractor would pay for any construction overruns or operating losses. And the federal government also made clear that it would not seek repayment.
So what's next? Is there any hope left for high-speed rail in Florida here and now?
I found one sliver of hope in this from today's Times article:
The additional time comes as good news to one Republican state senator, Thad Altman of Melbourne, who is considering taking legal action against the governor to save the project.
Altman said he believes Scott violated the constitutional limits of his executive authority by killing the project after the Legislature had voted to move forward with it.
He said he could not comment on any specifics of a potential lawsuit.
"There's some activity going on," said Sen. Jack Latvala, R-St. Petersburg. "There's some legal research that's been done. But I'm not sure if a plaintiff has been determined or a law firm that will handle the case has been determined. There are active efforts going to find both."
Although no one quoted in the article speculated any further, my hope is that a federal judge could be found who would issue an injunction preventing the federal DOT from releasing the funds set aside for Florida to anyone else until the issue of whether or not Gov. Scott overstepped in unilaterally refusing the funds can be decided by the courts. I'm no legal expert, so I'm not sure this is possible. But I would like to see all means exhausted before we give up on this project, which is the best opportunity I can see for bringing high-speed rail to Florida in my lifetime.
One final thought. A second sidebar article focuses on the yeoman's work done by Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio to bring together diverse local, regional and state government officials, business leaders and rail advocates to craft a plan from scratch, all within one week, in an effort to overcome Gov. Scott's (phony) objections and move this project forward.
So let me be the first to say it:
Iorio for Governor in 2014! (Or sooner, if we can impeach, recall or indict Rick Scott)