Strayhorn ad attempts to breakdown Perry support

Fort Worth Star-Telegram ^ | October 14, 2006 | April Castro, Associated Press

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Details of a new television campaign ad from independent gubernatorial candidate Carole Keeton Strayhorn:

TITLE: "Beyond"

LENGTH: 30 seconds.

PRODUCER: Alex Castellanos, media consultant; WF of R Inc., media placement.

AIRING: Started Friday in most markets; will be airing statewide by Monday.

SCRIPT: Carole Keeton Strayhorn: "Tolls across Texas?

"Gov. Perry's plan is beyond anything we've ever known. It's the largest land grab in Texas history. A deal to seize more than a half million acres of private property and hand it over to a foreign company, so they can charge us tolls.

"I believe Texas property belongs to Texans, not foreign companies. And I believe we ought to protect our property rights and stop this land grab. Austin doesn't.

"It's time to shake Austin up."

KEY IMAGES: The ad is shot in the same style as all of Strayhorn's have been so far - the candidate wearing a red blouse under a black jacket, standing before a white background and talking to the camera.

ANALYSIS: Gov. Rick Perry's Trans-Texas Corridor has been contentious - farmers and ranchers oppose selling their land for the massive transportation network, drivers oppose having to pay tolls and others have criticized the contractor's European ties. The issue is an easy target for Perry challengers and Strayhorn has led the charge against it. By putting the issue on television, she's taking it directly to voters - who may not have been paying close attention before now - and offering them an alternative. Strayhorn continues to poll below Perry, but she hopes that ads like this will breakdown enough of his support to give her an edge.

FACT CHECK: She calls the project the "largest land grab in Texas history." While the state plan could eventually include as much as 4,000 miles of highway, the state authorized 7,500 miles of farm-to-market roads in 1946. That grew to 35,000 miles in 1962 and included 41,755 miles by 1989. Strayhorn's campaign argues that the farm-to-market road system is still smaller than Perry's corridor because the rural roadways are not as wide as the swath planned for the new highway system.

Strayhorn contends the land will be "handed over to a foreign company." The contractor, Cintra-Zachry, is a consortium made up of Spain-based Cintra investing 65 percent and San Antonio-based Zachry Construction in for 35 percent. They've partnered with 16 other firms, which include two European-based companies.

Texas will own and control the roads, but Cintra-Zachry will maintain the roads and collect the tolls.

Strayhorn herself issued a press release in 2001 saying the Texas Department of Transportation should build more toll roads. Her campaign said she never envisioned such a sweeping toll road plan as Perry's Trans-Texas Corridor plan, adding that the transportation department's budget has increased enough in recent years to build roads without tolls.

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Analysis by April Castro, Associated Press writer.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

This is the Star-Telegram's rendering of Associated Press material. I know AP doesn't allow postings of their stuff directly from their site, but what they think of their stuff being posted from other sites allowed on FR, I have no idea. It's your call.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Trans-Texas Corridor PING!

[TexasTransplant]

Hate to say it but... I hope that Perry wins, I just hope that he squeaks barely back into office and I hope he gets the message.

TT

[BobL]

It's incredible that she can run such an outrageous commercial, and still get away with it.

Maybe because she's only telling the truth??

[Paleo Conservative]

Hate to say it but... I hope that Perry wins, I just hope that he squeaks barely back into office and I hope he gets the message.

What message?

[TexasTransplant]

>>>>>"What message?"<<<<<

That we know that he is a land grabbing, Tax and Spend Rhino and that he will accomplish NOTHING so he can spend more time combing his hair and looking in the mirror while leaving us alone.

TT

[basil]

What caught my eye is that Alex Castellano produced this ad. I know him from when he ran (and lost) for state rep in my district. I was very impressed with him--he came to the house and spent a couple of hours with us. Seemed to be a very strict conservative. However, I have no idea what to make of him producing this ad. Maybe it's just what he does for a living--maybe he's backing Strayhorn--who knows?

I too hope that the big haired guy wins the election, and by the smallest number of votes necessary to be called the winner. Maybe that will give him a clue that a whole lot of Texans are unhappy with his "Big Dig" road project. These types of huge governement projects are most often a big boondoogle that goes way over cost estimates, and end up poorly built and maintained.

Texas has historically had good roads, without the help of Europeans. Send all the illegals packing, and our roads won't be nearly so crowded.

[Ben Ficklin]

Maybe because she's only telling the truth

[deport]

I guess Strayhorn's wedding ring ad wasn't getting the job done.....

Early Voting begins in eight days in Texas...... Monday, Oct. 23rd.

[TexasTransplant]

Well said

Folks like Castellano need to be recognized more, I would not be surprised if he was a Freeper

Conservatives are by their very nature Resourceful.

TT

[Paleo Conservative]

That we know that he is a land grabbing, Tax and Spend Rhino

Using eminent domain to condemn land for transportation is a "public use" of land. I doesn't matter if the entity used to build the project is state owned or privately owned.

There is recent precedent in Texas for having private interests develop toll roads. What is now I-30 running between Fort Worth and Dallas was originally a toll road called the "Dallas-Fort Worth Turnpike" built by a private corporation that was allowed to build it, charge tolls, and earn a return on their money before handing over the road to the state.

The Trans-Texas-Corridor system would similarly be funded by tolls and would be handed over to the State of Texas after 50 years.

Pro TTC Ping!

This is a pro Trans-Texas Corridor ping list.

Please let me know by Freepmail if you want on or off the list.

[TexasTransplant]

Nice canned reply, sorry you couldn't be bothered further.

TT

[Paleo Conservative]

I too hope that the big haired guy wins the election, and by the smallest number of votes necessary to be called the winner. Maybe that will give him a clue that a whole lot of Texans are unhappy with his "Big Dig" road project. These types of huge governement projects are most often a big boondoogle that goes way over cost estimates, and end up poorly built and maintained.

No, it's the opposite of the "Big Dig". The "Big Dig" uses federal money to buy votes and incidentally build overpriced infrastructure. The contractors could care less how much everything costs, because they get paid anyway. The TTC contractors are taking risks, because they are the ones financing the building. If they go over budget, the contractors risk losing money, because they can't afford to set tolls higher than people will pay.

[El Gato]

trayhorn herself issued a press release in 2001 saying the Texas Department of Transportation should build more toll roads.

There's a heck of difference between toll roads built and operated by an arm of the Texas government, and one run by a foreign company, wherein they get a big cut of the tolls.

The constitution says property may be taken for public use, with just compensation. Turing something like this over to a private company, is getting a bit far from "public use". If a company wants to make money on toll roads, other than by building them, they should put the money up, buy the land on the open market and bear the risk.

Instead of the contractor getting a cut of the tolls, pay him up front for the construction, operate the road as other toll roads are operated, and if anybody gets a cut of the tolls, other than the toll road authority, it should be the original landowners. You could probably lower the cost of the land aquisition by in effect renting the land and lettin g the landowners continue to own it. If the value increases they could sell it, and then the new owners would get the cut of the tolls.

[El Gato]

I just hope that he squeaks barely back into office and I hope he gets the message.

All most politicians care about is winning, they never get such messages. They are deaf to them.

[nj26]

I don't support selling toll roads, ports, or any other critical infrastructure to any foreigners.

Not just NO, but HELL NO!

[Ben Ficklin]

"selling toll roads"

Texas will own the the land and the road. Cintra will lease it.

[El Gato]

Using eminent domain to condemn land for transportation is a "public use" of land. I doesn't matter if the entity used to build the project is state owned or privately owned.

True, but the "entity" as you call it, is not just going to build the toll road, and other parts of the project, they are going to operate and control it. That I don't like. It's no different than those cities that have used eminent domain to buy land, only to turn it over to a developer for a private project, often yet another mall. This is in contrast to something like the World Trade Center, which is run by a quasi governmental authority.

[nj26]

"Texas will own the the land and the road. Cintra will lease it."

Sounds like a technicality to me.

I don't think Texas landowners should be forced from their homes by eminent domain so the land can be "leased" by some foreign company.

If the road is needed, the state should own and operate it... not hand it over to some foreigners to profit from it.