Why I Support Bob Marshall for U.S. Senate

By Jim Riley

First of all, I would like to thank the team here at Bloggers 4 Bob Marshall for inviting me to join them.  I think that I bring an interesting perspective to the argument in favor of Bob Marshall’s candidacy.  While some support him on account of his solid economic record and others base their support on his pro-life, pro-family stances, it is his stand on transportation issues that has brought me to break my silence.

A little background may be in order here.  I first met Bob Marshall in the Fall of 1991 when he was mounting his first race for the House of Delegates.  I had just moved to the D.C. area for law school and a fellow I knew through College Republicans by the name of Kevin McGuirk (I had been the Massachusetts state chairman and he had been the Maine state chairman) was now living in the area, too.  He called me up one day and told me about a candidate running for the Virginia House of Delegates who I would really like and asked me if I’d help do some lit drops for him.  I immediately said yes and before I knew it, we were whizzing around the Beltway into Northern Virginia and heading out into Prince William County.  After a long day of doing lit drops, we were invited back to the candidate’s home for dinner.  He and his family were very kind and welcoming.  I could tell immediately that he practiced what he preached and that he was the genuine article.

Soon thereafter, Election Day 1991 rolled around and the next morning I searched the pages of the Washington Post for the results from Virginia.  I was excited to see Marshall had won.  I did not see him again until Spring 1993 when he held his reelection kick-off.  Once again, I found myself riding along with Kevin out to Prince William County to a firehouse where the event was being held.  The place was jam-packed.  Lt. Col. Oliver North was there and was the star attraction (this was as he was gearing up for his ‘94 senate race) as was Earle Williams, a GOP candidate for Governor that year (who ultimately lost the nomination to George Allen.)  Despite the collective star power present, the evening belonged to Del. Marshall.

Eight years later, I found myself married and moving to Prince William County.  I began surveying the political landscape and was pleased to find that Del. Marshall was still in office 10 years after that first election, even if I was living across the county from his district.

So, that brings us here to today.  There is a history for me with this candidate.  And while I also think highly of former Gov. Jim Gilmore, I have chosen to support Bob Marshall for U.S. Senate.

Out of all the major U.S. Senate candidates in Virginia this year, Marshall is the most detailed on the issues.  Living in traffic-clogged Northern Virginia, working in a field that involves transportation policy and also having served on a citizen committee in support of a road bond referendum, I found it amazing that the two former Governors in this race are not more outspoken on transportation issues.  I find Marshall’s positions on transportation to be articulate and well-thought out.

Foremost, Bob Marshall supports firewalling the transportation trust fund so that Virginia’s highway user fee (the gas tax) cannot be diverted for other uses.

I am also the chief House of Delegates sponsor of the Transportation Trust Fund Amendment to stop the diversion of transportation funds to other purposes, as was done by Democrat Governor Mark Warner when he shifted $317 million out of road trust funds to the general fund account.  Democrat Governor Kaine wants to shift some $180 million from the Transportation Trust Fund to pay for non-road or non-mass transit uses.  My Amendment passed the House of Delegates twice, but has failed on the Senate floor.

Right there, Marshall can take Mark Warner to task.  Bob Marshall supports using transportation trust fund money on transportation projects.  Mark Warner raided the trust fund to the tune of $317 million.  Which candidate would voters trust more on transportation?  With federal highway reauthorization legislation due in 2009, which candidate based upon their records in office would you want in Washington to ensure that the firewalls on the federal Highway Trust Fund remain in place?

If voters are still undecided after that stark contrast, Marshall piles on more:

Democrat candidate Mark Warner promised to not raise taxes, but did so as Governor after failing to convince voters in Tidewater and Northern Virginia in 2002 to raise their own taxes to pay for new roads in a referendum.  After pushing a tax increase through the General Assembly, not a penny of the additional tax money was designated for road fixes or mass transit.

So, what is Marshall’s record of accomplishment on transportation in the General Assembly?

My transportation laws removed large trucks out of the left lanes of Virginia interstates, allow localities to use proffers from developers in more creative ways to fix local traffic problems, and gave local government the authority to build inter-jurisdiction easy pass toll roads.

Not bad at all. And certainly consistent with conservative philosophy while also offering practical solutions.  But this is what clinches my support for Bob Marshall for U.S. Senate:

The question of finishing I-95 through Washington DC to College Park Maryland needs to be investigated.  In the 1990’s Maryland Governor Glendening expressed to me an interest in such a project and undertook a preliminary look for a possible I-95 route, but he said Maryland did not pursue it because of the opposition of Washington DC to the project.   Marion Barry was then mayor.  Finishing I-95 through Washington DC would also provide an additional route out of DC in case of a national emergency.

I recently wrote to Congressman Jim Oberstar (MN) who chairs the House of Representatives Transportation Committee.  He and I both worked for Minnesota Congressman John Blatnik in the 1970’s who also chaired the Transportation Committee.  Congressman Oberstar also expressed an interest in this project. This would significantly reduce Capitol Beltway traffic in Virginia and Maryland.

I have long advocated something along these lines. There is no bigger bottleneck in Northern Virginia than where interstates cross the Potomac River and end at traffic lights in D.C. whether it is I-66 at Constitution Ave., I-395 at 14th Street or I-395 at New York Ave.  Furthermore, the fact that Marshall is able to work with Democrats Glendening and Oberstar proves that he truly can work in a bipartisan fashion to solve problems and is not simply some radical right-wing Republican caricature dreamed up by the Washington Post and DNC Chairman Howard Dean as they would have you believe.

Bob Marshall is a man of intergrity and of ideas.  While I may not agree with him on 100 percent of the issues, I find him to be exactly the type of U.S. Senator that I want to see representing me in Washington, D.C.