Lockbox ballot question a step in right direction for transportation

“Perfect is the enemy of good,” Voltaire once said.

Life is a series of compromises and waiting for “perfect” is like standing still. You’ll never get anywhere.

So is this election season.

The conventions and primaries have delivered us a short list of flawed candidates pandering platitudes of perfection to a weary, cynical electorate. It’s enough to make you decide to not vote, lest you encourage and enable this behavior.

But forget about the gubernatorial choices. It’s your state representative and state senator who will be crafting the laws, so pay them heed. Those are the races that really count, so in the waning days of the campaign, go to the debates, read the candidates’ platforms, study the issues and editorials.

Ask for specifics, not generalities. If they say they want to improve train service, ask how and with what money? The devil’s in the details and I, for one, am tired of vague generalities that get people elected and then see them do nothing.

And don’t forget to turn over your ballot. That’s where the single most important thing you can do to fix transportation will be found: the lockbox referendum question.

It will be labeled as “Question One,” a proposed amendment to the state constitution. And if you read it, you’ll see no mention of the word “lockbox.” But that’s what it is about: Putting money for transportation in a special place where it can only be spent on that intended purpose — transportation.

Until now, the state’s Special Transportation Fund has been a sieve, raided by Democrats and Republicans to balance the state’s budget. This measure would help end that practice.

To make it onto the November ballot, Question One was approved with bipartisan support by two legislative sessions. By making it a constitutional amendment instead of a law, it will be harder to circumvent, but not impossible.

This lockbox question is not perfect. It has loopholes. But if it passes, doom on any lawmaker or governor who tries to avoid voters’ clear intent: setting aside money that can only be spent on transportation.

There is wide support for Question One, especially among commuters who are tired of seeing our state’s bridges crumble and near-constant delays on standing-room-only trains. Even if you don’t ride our trains or buses, you should care about this issue. It’s your tax dollars (gasoline taxes especially) that have been misspent to the tune of $500 million in the past decade.

But suddenly, Republicans are wavering in their support of this lockbox, though they initially proposed it. They say it’s not good enough, that it should be tighter and have stronger constraints both on funding and spending.

I might agree. But the November ballot question is what it is. It cannot be changed until the next legislative session. If anyone thinks the lockbox should be stronger, make it so, but only after this version is made law.

Question One’s proposal is not perfect. But rejecting it will maintain the status quo, leaving transportation funding subject to the same misappropriation that has gone on for decades. That’s why I’m voting “yes” on Question One.

Christian Abraham / Hearst Connecticut Media “Question One” on November’s ballot will ask Connecticut voters if they want a lockbox for transportation funds.