Highway plan could use Holden's support

With little more than a week left before the Aug. 6 primary election, look for the broadcast airwaves and the pages of newspapers to be filled with advertising messages seeking support for candidates.

This year's primary election has more than the usual number of candidates in some races, thanks to legislative term limits or decisions by longtime incumbents not to seek re-election. In Cape Girardeau County, for example, the winner of some key posts will be decided in the August election, because all of the candidates are members of the same party. This means the primary winner will be unopposed in November's general election.

In addition to candidates for legislative seats and county posts, there are several other issues on the Aug. 6 ballot. The one getting the most statewide attention is Proposition B, which the Southeast Missourian already has editorially endorsed even while acknowledging the legitimacy of some of the complaints from opponents. But the state desperately needs more highway funding, and this is the only plan that attempts to fill that need. Thus, voting for Proposition B will spur an infusion of millions of dollars for Missouri Department of Transportation projects -- but at a high cost of tax increases.

Missouri has been struggling with its need for more transportation dollars for a long time. The push began in earnest long before the economy turned sluggish last year, long before Bob Holden became governor and long before taxpayers became intensely concerned about their investment portfolios, particularly those thinking about their retirement years.

When Holden became governor, he made additional funding for transportation a high priority, even though he appeared reluctant at times to outline the specifics of a plan that might accomplish that goal.

Indeed, in the 2001 legislative session, Holden chided legislators for failing to demonstrate leadership on the transportation issue. At that time, the state was still trying to sort out the failure of MoDOT's 1992 plan that collapsed because a 6-cent fuel-tax increase failed to generate enough money to fund all the promised projects. Sensitivities were high, and no one wanted to see another major plan go down in shambles. Legislators authorized bond sales for highway projects as a stopgap -- but no mechanism for repaying the bonds.

In this year's session, legislators finally put together a planâ Proposition B, calling for increases in both the fuel tax and the state sales tax. The plan would raise nearly $500 million a year for the next 10 years. Projects have been identified all over Missouri, with the biggest share going to the urban areas on either side of the state and the I-70 corridor through mid-Missouri.

It has been difficult to ignore the governor's silence on Proposition B. Since a speech a month ago that promoted Proposition B's benefits, Holden has said little on the topic. Opponents of the funding plan say polls show strong opposition statewide. Supporters say they don't think the proposition is doomed.

Certainly, a strong push by the governor would send a signal to voters that Missouri's transportation needs are still urgent -- and won't go away if Proposition B is defeated.