House candidates: Q&A on transportation issues

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23rd District candidate profile: Scott Garrett

23rd District candidate profile: Jeff Helgeson

Question 3: What should Virginia do about its transportation needs, such as unpaved roads in rural areas and congested roads in urban regions?

Scott Garrett

“I believe that the General Assembly must do a better job of prioritizing our transportation projects statewide. We must elect legislators who can take a hard look at the proposed projects to determine which are luxuries that would be ‘nice to have’ versus those truly necessary to improve our economy and our quality of life. For example, as a councilman, I opposed the Fifthth Street Roundabout project, because we have more pressing needs, transportation and otherwise, which should have taken first priority.

“To stretch our transportation dollars in Richmond, I will fight to ensure that VDOT undergoes a thorough, independent, outside audit to ensure that there is no government waste. Reports persist of serious waste and inefficiency in VDOT’s affairs, and as the saying goes, where there’s smoke there’s fire. Even finding savings and efficiencies of 10 percent would allow us hundreds of millions of dollars for new projects and for maintenance of existing roads.

“Adding additional Amtrak service linking Lynchburg, Richmond, and Washington is an exciting development for our community, one we must use or lose. However, we still have substantial transportation needs. I will work aggressively in Richmond to ensure that the 29 bypass near Charlottesville is completed as soon as possible so that local businesses and our trucking companies are no longer handicapped by an antiquated highway system.”

Jeff Helgeson

“I have said no to many projects that were ‘nice’ but not ‘necessary’ as a member of Lynchburg City Council. I said ‘no’ to building a ‘roundabout’ on 5th Street, but others thought it would be nice. I said ‘no’ to funding a privately owned hotel downtown, but others thought it would be nice. I said ‘no’ to spending another $2.5 million to make the street next to the privately owned hotel look ‘pretty,’ but others thought it would be nice. Now, the city is having to cut back on core services to make ends meet.

“Six months ago, I tried to halt spending $4 million for those projects one last time. However, not one other member of City Council joined me in trying to stop them. Now, several Lynchburg police officers are looking elsewhere for jobs because the budget’s pay cuts dropped public safety pay to the lowest in the region.

“I have pushed for real priorities like reducing congestion at intersections, preventing greater demand on connectors due to housing density and working to ensure pedestrian access that keeps cars moving and reduces safety hazards.

“I will use the same common-sense, fiscally conservative approach as a delegate in Richmond. I will oppose creating new taxing authorities to add more burdens to businesses and families. Instead, I will support efforts to eliminate waste in the Department of Transportation, and I will oppose government waste in other areas of the budget so we can have the money to fund the necessary improvements that our transportation system needs throughout the Commonwealth.

“We need a delegate who knows how to separate the ‘nice’ proposals from the ‘necessary’ ones. We need a delegate who will have the foresight to say ‘no’ to ‘nice’ things, especially when difficult times are just around the corner.”