[calcowgirl]

Do you disagree with what he says? If so, why? It sounded pretty sensible.

"What I would say to California is that you need a safety valve in your locally elected officials. You need to keep them as a big part of your transportation planning," said Texas state Rep. Joe Pickett, D-El Paso, who served on the Texas House Transportation Committee and is major critic of Texas transportation policy.

"And remember, once you get into billions of dollars of public funds, once something is written down, you're in it for a long time. They [the toll road owners] will control everything, and it will no longer be controlled by local officials," Pickett said.

[Deek]

Do you disagree with what he says?

In Texas, the Regional Mobility Authorities (RMAs) have significant local control. The RMAs are formed at a "regional" level, and have near complete say in transportation for their region. The irony here is that Picket opposed creation of the RMA for his constituents.

On the surface his statements sound reasonable. They don't, however, match his policy position.

[texastoo]

Texas state Rep. Joe Pickett, D-El Paso, who served on the Texas House Transportation Committee and is major critic of Texas transportation policy.

"And remember, once you get into billions of dollars of public funds, once something is written down, you're in it for a long time. They [the toll road owners] will control everything, and it will no longer be controlled by local officials," Pickett said.

This is NOT a Democrat or Republican issue. Hopefully, you can keep this locally. Texas has been lied to, and mislead by the Governor.