Well this is certainly a depressing development. While State Senator Bob Duff-D works to get Super 7 on the radar of legislators, State Rep Toni Boucher-R uses her bigger stash of mojo to erase any mention of Super 7 studies from the bonding bill. The Hour reports:
Duff inserted language on line 3,046 of a bonding package that would require the state Department of Transportation to report, using available funds, on the viability of Super 7 by the end of 2008.
The move riled Rep. Toni Boucher [R-143] who tried to introduce several amendments to the language and threatened to tie up legislation with hours of debate on the house floor. She later received a pledge from Speaker of the House Jim Amman and Transportation Committee Chairman Antonio Guerrera to remove the language if the bill passed.
“Revisiting this issue at this time is irresponsible,” Boucher said in a written statement. “To have this language inserted during this special session by Senator Duff was a surprise as the concept of a Super highway was soundly defeated in committee.”
Other lawmakers weighed in with their own comments. Sen. Judith Freedman [R-26] called the plan “ancient and environmentally destructive,” and Rep. John Hetherington [R-125] called it “meaningless and ineffective.”In a letter to politicians, town officials and the press, Wilton First Selectman William Brennan lauded Boucher for fighting Super 7. He said the proposal was “ill timed and devious,” as well as a “self serving, publicity stunt” for Duff.
In an interview, Boucher agreed with the sentiment. “It seems to me that any time the Senator likes to get publicity, all he has to do is sneeze the words Super 7, and he gets in the paper again,” she said.
Duff said in an interview he wasn’t surprised to face opposition from Wilton lawmakers.
“They’re holding on to an old idea that their communities are against Super 7, when in fact it is a vocal minority,” Duff said. He added that the widening of Route 7 from two to four lanes currently underway in Wilton is a waste of money that will harm the town in the long term. By comparison, he said an expressway would keep traffic off of Wilton’s back roads.
The Wilton route 7 construction project is turning that once leafy lined scenic drive into a traffic congested parking lot. When finished, they will have the equivalent of a Boston Post Road, lined with strip malls, similar to what transpired in Ridgefield’s portion of route 7. And still, the cars that commute daily from the Danbury, Brookfield, New Milford and New Fairfield areas will descend daily, adding 30 minutes onto a commute that would otherwise by 13 minutes, if there was a highway.
Bob Duff needs to get some bigger mojo. It’s not good when Speaker Amann cuts a deal with someone who systematically votes against the majority position on legislation.
source: The Wilton Villager, Political Tennis: Boucher returns Duff’s serve, JARED NEWMAN, September 28, 2007
