DEMS’ TOLL TROLL
THEY WANT US TO PAY UP ON EVERY MAJOR HIGHWAY AROUND HUB!
Just in time for the election: more tolls.
A sneaky bill by Democratic legislators to open the door to open-road tolling on highways around the state — ranging from I-93 to I-95 — seems like a dumb idea considering the 2018 election is around the corner.
But most Democratic lawmakers are safe, so that means it could fall in the lap of the Republican governor, Charlie Baker.
That may be the goal of Democrats — cause mischief for Baker as he’s gearing up his re-election bid.
The lead lawmaker proposing the toll bill, cleverly disguised as “An Act establishing the Metropolitan Transportation Network,” is state Sen. Thomas McGee, who is not only co-chair of the Transportation Committee, but the former head of the state Democratic Party.
You have to look far down in the text of the bill to see the real goal of this bill — direct the state to develop “a plan to implement a comprehensive system of tolling and travel on and within the metropolitan highway system.”
And the state must open up the new tolls by December 2018 at the latest — meaning motorists would be preparing for what is essentially a massive new tax increase as they head into the voting booth in November.
But who would get the blame and the brunt of the voters’ anger?
Democrats may have proposed the bill, but it’s Baker’s Transportation Department that would have to force the new tolls on motorists. He would have to live with the new law even if he had tried to veto it.
That’s why the governor should move to quickly quash the bill. Baker wants new tolls about as much as he wants a President Trump endorsement, and made that clear in a statement to the Herald.
A spokesman said the administration “is committed to improving the commonwealth’s roads system and opposed to imposing additional tolls on the people of Massachusetts.”
That’s strong language for Baker, who usually declines to take a position on legislation until it gets to his desk. The governor knows the political potency of new tolls in an election year.
But Baker could turn this tolling plan into a political plus. Let the Democrats continue to move it through the Legislature. And force the Democratic candidates for governor to take a position.
Baker’s current opponents, former Deval Patrick aide Jay Gonzalez, Newton Mayor Setti Warren and environmental activist Bob Massie, are so left-leaning they might take the bait and support the new tolls.
Baker turns it into a powerful TV ad — and more evidence why the state needs a Republican governor to keep the Legislature in check.
The new tolling plan could end up backfiring on Democrats and help keep Baker in the Corner Office.
But motorists would be the ones who end up paying.