What’s next for the General Assembly? Many have made noises that transportation will be the next battleground between rival groups on taxes. Though I think higher education, specifically the increasing difficulty Virginia students are having getting into the state’s premier institutions, will be a key issue, there’s no doubt the state faces a road and transit crisis.
A new “public awareness” campaign is being developed. Though no mention is made of the Foundation for Virginia, the tactics reflect the Foundation’s work on behalf of education during the last session. And the Foundation originally said it would tackle transportation next.
It will be interesting to see where this goes.
The idea for a broad-based coalition that would aggressively promote the issue started before the overtime assembly ended in June. Advocates hope to bring transportation to the forefront of next winter’s session.
“Once transportation was dropped, it became obviously clear we were going to have to do something soon,” Daugherity said yesterday.
The groups plan to wage a grass-roots campaign that will include town hall meetings and “underscore the importance of transportation” in the everyday lives of voters, according to the letter.