BULLET TRAIN WON’T REACH SAN DIEGO OR L.A.

In 2008, California voters heeded the exhortations of Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and many prominent Democrats in narrowly approving $9.95 billion in bond seed money for a $33 billion statewide high-speed rail network. The initial focus of the project was to be a Los Angeles to San Francisco route, but 48.6 percent of San Diego County voters supported the project after hearing reassurances that the system would eventually extend to California’s second-most populous city. This was backed up by confident reports issued by the California High-Speed Rail Authority in the years that immediately followed the 2008 vote about how a convenient statewide network of speedy trains was just around the corner.

But what was actually just around the corner was a never-ending torrent of bad news about the project and the cost overruns and environmental and logistical obstacles it faced. Wealthy suburbs south of San Francisco and north of Los Angeles flatly refused to accept the inconveniences that would be caused by years of high-speed rail construction. This eventually led to the rail authority instead focusing initial construction on a route in the Central Valley. The theory was that the route would be such a success that investors would come running. Instead, two years after the Los Angeles to San Francisco link was supposed to be complete — according to promises made in 2008 — construction of a 171mile route linking Bakersfield and Merced is years behind schedule and far over budget.

Not only has the idea that San Diego would ever be part of a statewide bullet-train network disappeared, the L.A.-San Francisco route increasingly seems like a fantasy. With the cost of the route now estimated at $105 billion, many state lawmakers — led by Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood — have said for years that any available funding should be used to beef up urban rail networks.

Unfortunately, the high-profile politician who in 2014 was ready to give up on the bullet-train project has had a change of heart. With California sitting on an expected $68 billion surplus, and with the Biden administration offering encouragement (if no hard funding promises), Gov. Gavin Newsom is pushing to infuse $4.2 billion in new state funding into the project. CalMatters reported Friday that Newsom is playing hardball with the legislators — most prominently Assembly Democrats — who refuse to implement his vision.

“This project is big and complex and complicated and difficult and needs oversight,” Assembly Transportation Committee Chair Laura Friedman, DGlendale, said. “It seems like there’s pressure being put on us to very quickly give them their money and just move on. ‘Legislature, get out of our way,’ which to me is really, really committing legislative malfeasance.” In plain English, malfeasance means wrongdoing or misconduct especially by a public official.

Here’s who should agree with that characterization: Californians who want relief from soaring food, gasoline and energy costs and who do not want the state to throw $4.2 billion of good money after bad.

Newsom’s romp in last year’s recall made it inevitable he would face only a token re-election challenge, but a clash of ideas is always welcome. The state bullet train is just one issue in need of a course correction that could come from a close campaign.