The Death And Resurrection Of Light Rail, Conclusion
B ï- PüOI- t. hÿOK M<
K i m n Bl B T
public good
in a a meaningful
meaningful way.
wav.
public
good in
I'uo notable occasions come to mind;
President Theodore R o o sev elt's
crusade against Wall Street brokers
and bankers, the railroad tycoons,
and the petroleum industry at the turn
o f the century.
And, more recently, the “New
Deal" dynasty o f President Franklin
D. Roosevelt who organ ized, cajoled
and brow beat every element o f the
American infrastructure in his effort
to bring the country out of the great
depression o f the 1930’s Which path
will the light rail resurrection fol­
low? - and it definitely seems that,
like Lazarus’, the sensibility ofelec-
trified railway systems will prevail
as they rise again.
There also is much speculation as
to how minorities will fare this time
around — will new ‘right-of-way’
acquisition o f hyper-expensive in­
ner-city real estate further impair the
economic circumstance o f African
Americans and Hispanics'.’ Nation­
wide. we find whites alarmed as well
as lending enthusiastic endorsement.
As in the case o f Portland, they call
black friends or media, "what was
or mis series. I he obvious, o f course,
is there was none' -- and there is the
further consideration, “does the na­
tion today have a clearly defined,
comprehensive urban transportation
plan which would facilitate the resto­
ration o f clean, safe, healthful and
economical light rail systems around
the country?" No, we re told to "Get
On The Bus.”
One thing for sure is that a well
thought out industrial' policy has
always been in place and the major
corporate interests served have only
temporarily had their vast economic
power curtailed or harnessed to the
‘v n u r’
I» « » l
your’ legal
experience when the
sovereign authorities salvaged you
with eminent domain and urban re­
newal (rem oval)?” I’ve had calls
from St. Johns to Hillsboro.
In an ironic footnote to the pro­
cess, last week an African American
woman, Shirley A. DeLibero, execu­
tive director o f “New Jersey Tran-
“ There would seem to be
a very widely-based, if not
unified, push for the
revival o f light rail mass
transit, and across all
segments o f our society
sit”, the state's transit authority,
was named Transit Manager o f the
year' by the American Public Tran­
sit Association. New Jersey Transit
was voted "B est in the N ation"
in 1996, and DeLibero honored as
the transit manager "who has done
most to advance public transporta­
tion in the United States and Cana-
There would seem to be a very
widely-based, ifnot unified, push for
the revival o f light rail mass transit.
_____.
-
.
.
and across all segments o f our soci­
ety For instance we have the report­
ed enthusiasm and dedication exhib­
ited at the recent “ Rail-Violation"
conference in Washington, D.C. One
attendee insists that a litany o f ills
would be mitigated: “social justice,
crime prevention, conservation o f
resources, environmental protection,
employment opportunities, energy
conservation, etc." Well, that’s push­
ing the envelope.
from the university community
we hear equally enthusiastic opin­
ions and the noisy sharpening of
grantsmanship tools—which brings
about an interesting consideration.
Academia and the big national "think
tanks' who propose to do the new
studies and recommendations that
relate to "public' policy on transpor­
tation and urban infrastructure get a
lot of their funding from industry (or
foundations supported by industry;
either directly or indirectly).
One should not really expect in­
dustry to "roll over and play dead' in
these matters that vitally affect their
welfare as well as the public's A
visit w ith former fellow faculty mem-
Minorities skeptical of Kemp
No matter how many appeals for
G O P votes Kemp m akes, many
blacks can't forget that one o f his
first acts as the Republican vice pres­
idential nominee was to switch posi­
tions on affirmative act ion and immi­
gration.
“Racial unity is important, but
there is a big difference when you're
practicing and talking on a podium,"
said Jahar Haque, a cancer research­
er at the Cleveland Clinic Founda­
tion, who heard Kemp speak on
Monday.
In Knoxville, Tenn., state legisla­
tor Joe Armstrong complained that
K em p’s message “changed when he
became the vice presidential nomi­
nee.”
“ We know that his record is the
com plete opposite o f his running
mate. Bob Dole," Armstrong said
last week.
Kemp had split with the party
and G OP presidential nominee Dole
over proposals to let states deny
public education to children o f ille­
gal immigrants. He also criticized a
1996 California ballot measure to
end state programs that a ward jobs or
college admissions on the basis o f
race.
He switched positions to fall in
line with Dole after he was plucked
from the political sidelines for the
Republican ticket's No. 2 spot in
August. Kemp rejects any sugges­
tion that h e's done an about face.
“Unity does not require unanimi­
ty,” he says.
Ramadan Salih, vice president o f
the Metropolitan Republican Asso­
ciation in Cleveland, where Kemp
campaigned Monday, said his party
needs to work harder to win the tra­
ditionally Democratic minority vote.
" I hey have to start to reach mi­
norities by getting with the people on
the ground floor," he said. “In the
future, we hope to make things bet­
ter.”
David Bositis, senior analyst at
the Joint Center for Political and
Economic Studies, a black think tank,
said K em p’s vow to “carry the word
to every man, woman and child, o f
every background" w on't be enough
to move chunks of black votes into
the Republican column.
In 1992, former President Bush
got 11 percent o f the black vote; Bill
Clinton, 82 percent; and indepen­
dent Ross Perot, 7 percent, he said.
"It’s going to have to be a case
where the Republicans offer a lot more
up front in terms o f seriousness in
getting black support than simply the
idea that Jack Kemp was nominated to
be vice president,” said Bositis.
But Milton Bins, chairman o f the
Council o f 100, a black Republican
group, dismissed that notion. He
named a short list o f GOP officials,
in c lu d in g O hio G ov. G e o rg e
Voinovich and New Jersey Gov.
Christie Whitman, who were elected
with significant help from black vot­
ers.
“This notion that black people will
not vote Republican is an outrage,"
Bins said. “ It's an error.”
Stumping before mostly white
audiences, but also in the predomi­
nantly minority communities, Kemp
weaves his inclusion appeal into his
daily sales pitch for D ole's 15 per­
cent across-the-board tax cut plan
In Augusta, Ga.. the former NI L
quarterback recalled racism in the
league and watching the parents of
his black co-captain sit in the end
zone “behind a rope while my dad
and mom got to sit on the 50-yard
line.”
"I’m not bringing this up to shame
anybody," Kemp said. "I am bringing
it up to remind us of how far we've
come yet how far we have to go in
America so that every single person
can have the dignity and justice and
freedom and equality o f opportunity
on which our party is based."
bers at a local university indicates
that such is the case. One friend is
leaving for Texas at the end o f the
school year to work with a group o f
economic researchers funded by the
petroleum industry They are all in­
terested in what would happen in
response to a rapidly decreasing fos­
sil fuel consumption
One micro-economic model giv­
en intense scrutiny is the energy cri­
sis” that confronted government pol­
icy makers at the end o f 1973 when
the Arab oil-producers announced a
cutback o f oil exports. Interestingly,
a principal "think tank’ consultant in
the complicated dy nanties o f balanc­
ing gasoline consumption, speed lim­
its, engineer specifications and pric­
es at the fuel pump was “Alan
Greenspan ( Townsend-Greenspan
and Company ). If the name is famil­
iar, it is because he is current chair­
man o f the all-powerful Federal Re­
serve System.
Today, we would hope that our
new schools o f urbanologists will
have better solutions for enhancing
the quality of life in the nation's
metropolitan areas than the “MLK
Blvd.” model (Union Ave ) In an
inspired exercise o f economic idio­
cy, the Model Cities’ social plan­
ners gaily destroyed a prosperous
business district to the tune o f bil­
lions o f dollars, depriving city, state
and federal government o f hundreds
o f millions in tax revenues over the
decades.
This urban disaster was accelerat­
ed by the installation o f that national­
ly infamous "median barrier’ which,
like the " Berlin Wall”, had deliber­
ate political and social goals that
permanently crippled the develop­
ment ofacresofadjoining residential
areas (and people). But not before
the streetcar tracks that carried clean,
efficient and economical light rail
were dug up and exported to Asia
where, combined with steel scrap
from those other 100 American cit­
ies, they were used to build factories
to compete with American labor and
industry. Hello trade deficit! are our
leaders really naive?
Will we ever have sense enough to
demand a revision of that early indus­
try arrogance to, “what's good for the
people' is good for the country”?
Your vote is power
On Saturday, October 19 from
9:30p.m. to2:30p.m ., five commu­
nity based organizations will launch
a community involvement voter ed­
ucation program.
The effort is being led by the
A frican A m erican L egislative
Round-table founded by Represen­
tative Avel Gordly currently serv­
ing District 19.
The Urban League o f Portland is
participating as a sponsor and both
the Northeast Rescue Plan Action
Committee and the Black Leader­
ship Conference and the Black Unit­
ed Fund are co-sponsors.
The forum open to the public at
no cost will be held at Lutheran
InnerCity Ministries4219 NF MLK
Jr. Blvd
The purpose o f the forum is to
register voters and educate them on
current issues in preparation for the
96 general election. The forum w ill
also seek to identify community
members who are interested in de­
veloping their ski I Is and know ledge
in order to consider future public
service
The forum will feature topics such
as Why should you vote?, How your
vote makes a difference. General
Election llallot Measures with a
fo c u s on minimum wage and Cut
and I ap, and The status o f affirma­
tive action globally and locally.
The forum will also offer a panel
on identifying the skills needed to
be effective in public office and
what it takes to wage a serious cam­
paign.
The general public is invited to
attend and there is no cost.
For questions and more informa­
tion, please call Faye Burch at 281-
3 7 7 1 or David Brody at 280-2611.
“ON NOV. 5™, WE RE
VOTING FOR OURSELVES
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If you don't think there’s a difference between
Democrats and the Newt Gingrich Republicans,
think about w ho’s been there, fighting against the
Republicans who, if given the chance, will continue
to cut, slash and block the progress we’ve made.
They’re against direct Student Loans, Affirmative
Action and increasing the minimum wage.
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The Democratic Party is there, fighting for the things
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• Unemployment in the Black community is at a
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• Increased the minimum wage • Increased
funding for Historically Black Colleges • Made
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Democrats are dealing with the hard issues. But
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On Nov. 5th, vote for the people who care about you
You have the power to stop them.
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P a id fo r b y th e ( Irc g n n D em ocratic Party.
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