The fictional funeral director Bonassera (left, above) bears more than a passing resemblance to Republican CHRIS MYERS (below)
MEDFORD, N.J. MAYOR CHRIS MYERS -- REP. MICA's CAMPAIGNING FOR HIM OCTOBER 2nd
Glad to know that our absentee, AWOL U.S. Rep. JOHN MICA is campaigning in New Jersey this week, while the sequelae of his vote on the Wall Street bailout is roiling the financial markets and cutting off credit for everyone -- MICA did not even stay in Washington, D.C. to do his job, but went off on a toot campaigning in NJ. (See press release and news article below).
From politickernj.com -- sounds like JOHN MICA's so afraid of answering questions from 7th District residents that he's on the run to South Jersey, campaigning for other tatterdemalion Republican pols.
Press Release
House Republican Leader on Transportation John Mica Joins Myers, Ocean County Officials to Tout MOM LineOctober 2, 2008 - 1:38pm
Tags: Chris Myers, John Adler,
Release Date: Oct 2 2008
House Republican Leader on Transportation John Mica Joins Myers, Ocean County Officials to Tout MOM Line
Criticize Trenton politician Adler for failure support mass transit in South Jersey
Mount Holly, October 2, 2008-
Pledging to aggressively fight for federal dollars to help build the Monmouth-Ocean-Middlesex (MOM) rail line if elected to Congress this November, job-creating businessman and decorated combat veteran Chris Myers (NJ-3) was joined today by Florida Congressman John Mica, the Republican Leader of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and various Ocean County officials, at a press conference in Toms River today to voice his support for the project and criticize his opponent, career Trenton politician John Adler for voting against the MOM line in Trenton and completely failing to address the district's mass transit needs in his so-called energy plan. The words "mass transit" or "transportation" don't appear at all in Adler's so-called plan.
"Investing in mass transit is vital to solving our nation's energy crisis and reducing our dependence on foreign oil," said Myers, who released a sweeping 13-point energy plan back in August that included construction of the MOM line. "If I'm elected to Congress in November, I will work tirelessly with transportation experts like Congressman Mica and the elected officials here in Ocean County to make the MOM line a reality. The people of Ocean County have waited for this project long enough."
Congressman John Mica (FL-7), who is a widely recognized expert on transportation issues, and a strong supporter of expanding mass transit across the country, said the MOM line represents a unique opportunity that New Jersey would be wise to seize.
"It is essential that communities, whether in New Jersey or anyplace else in America, look for cost-effective transportation alternatives such as commuter rail to meet our future transportation needs," said U. S. Rep. John Mica (FL-07), the Transportation and Infrastructure Republican Leader in the U.S. House of Representatives. ""With soaring energy prices and concern for the environment, it is essential that citizens and leaders of Ocean County, and neighboring counties, join together in support of projects like this or they will fall further behind the rest of the nation."
Myers said the many benefits of the MOM line included reducing traffic along Route 9 and the Parkway, creating thousands of new job opportunities for county residents, boosting home values and local economies along the line, promoting smart growth near the rail stations, serving Navy Lakehurst, providing transportation for seniors and the disabled, and protecting our environment. He labeled Adler's past opposition to the project, and his failure to place a priority on mass transit projects in this campaign, as "inexcusable."
On June 26, 2000, Adler voted "No" on A-2245, a bill that would have added Central Jersey commuter rail service terminating in Ocean County to the State's "Circle of Mobility," an essential group of related transit projects vital to NJ's future transportation infrastructure. The bill passed the Senate 21-16 and was later signed into law as P.L. 2000, c. 59.
"New Jersey's roads and bridges are crumbling, our roads are congested beyond belief, and our mass transit needs - especially in southern and central New Jersey - are woefully inadequate," said Myers. "John Adler and the failed political machine in Trenton have spent, borrowed and squandered our Transportation Trust Fund into bankruptcy and have continually put the needs of North Jersey and politically-connected big cities before our needs when it comes to expanding and improving infrastructure. Just like he's failed us on taxes and the economy in Trenton, John Adler has failed us in Trenton when it comes to mass transit needs. If he's elected to Congress, the MOM line will wither on the vine and die. We can't afford to let that happen."
NOTE: John L. Mica was first elected to the United States Congress on November 3, 1992, to represent the 7th Congressional District of Florida, which stretches across six counties from the suburban areas north of Orlando to the Jacksonville city limits. Major cities in the district include Winter Park, Altamonte Springs, Lake Mary, Sanford, Deltona, DeBary, DeLand, Daytona Beach, Ormond Beach, Palm Coast, Palatka and St. Augustine. He is currently serving his eighth term in the 110th Congress, which began January 4, 2007.
In the 110th Congress, Mica was elected by his peers in the House of Representatives to serve as the Republican Leader of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the largest Congressional panel in Congress. As the House Transportation GOP Leader, Mica serves on all six Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittees. These subcommittees include Aviation; Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation; Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management; Highways and Transit; Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials; and Water Resources and Environment. He has been recognized as a national leader on a variety of transportation issues. Mica also is a member of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Board of Visitors the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees. Rep. Mica served six years as the Speaker's Representative to the U.S. Capitol Preservation Commission and was formerly a Member of the House Administration Committee.
-30-
FROM APP.COM:
Candidate says he's for MOM rail line
Gets backing in Amtrak bill
By Erik Larsen • TOMS RIVER BUREAU • October 3, 2008
Post a CommentRecommend Print this page E-mail this article Share Del.icio.us
Digg
Newsvine
Buzz up!
TOMS RIVER — A news conference held by Republican congressional candidate Chris Myers and Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., on the proposed Monmouth-Ocean-Middlesex rail line, was interrupted Thursday morning by a telephone call from U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters.
Mica, the ranking Republican member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee, stepped away from the podium to answer his cell phone and returned a few moments later with an announcement.
"That was the secretary of transportation, who just informed me that the president is
going to sign the Amtrak reauthorization bill," Mica said. "It's the first bill in 11 years. And what's interesting is the MOM line will connect into the Northeast Corridor."
The new initiative will encourage private sector development of high-speed rail corridors and authorize $2 billion in grants to states for rail projects and money for Washington's metro system.
"The private sector will have the opportunity to put together a finance plan to construct and operate true high-speed rail service on the Northeast Corridor and 10 other corridors across the United States," Mica said. "The Senate passed this just last night before the bailout provision was brought up. It is a very historic time."
The bill passed in the Senate by a 74-24 vote Wednesday night. Safety technology required by the legislation would have prevented the Sept. 12 commuter rail disaster in Los Angeles that killed 25 people, the Federal Railroad Administration has said.
The bill caps the hours per week that rail crews can work and prohibits shifts longer than 12 hours. It adds 200 new safety inspectors for the Federal Railroad Administration and requires the installation by 2015 of technology that can put the brakes on a train if it runs a red light or gets off track.
It also calls for Amtrak to receive $13 billion over five years in subsidies, though
Congress will have to separately approve the money year after year.
Mica and Myers appeared outside the Crystal Diner at the intersection of Routes 37 and 166, dubbed "accident alley" by local business owners as it is one of the most dangerous intersections in Toms River. Myers said the intersection illustrated the need for more mass transit in Ocean County and that the MOM line was the way to go.
Myers met with county and township leaders inside the diner before appearing with Mica in the parking lot.
"My opponent, (state Sen.) John Adler (D-Camden), is one of the guys holding up the MOM line," Myers said. "Not only that, his energy plan doesn't even mention the words mass transit in it. It's the typical hand waving that we get from Trenton politicians without specific plans on how we're going to implement something. In my view, again, this is a stark difference between his leadership and my leadership. John Adler has been in the state Senate for 16 years. . . And now he doesn't even support mass transit because he is caught up in the political nonsense. We need people who are leaders and want to focus how we get projects people need."
Myers said politicians who oppose the MOM line, such as those in Middlesex County, fail to understand that there is a compelling public interest to build the line and perhaps should be voted out of office if they fail to get onboard.
"This is just another desperate attempt by Chris Myers to distract voters from his support for George Bush's economic policies," Adler campaign manager Mark Warren said, in a written statement after the news conference. "The Bush/Myers economic policies have bankrupted this country, brought us to the point where the Congress is considering a $700 billion dollar bail-out and have done real harm to hard working middle class families . . . Chris Myers is deliberately misrepresenting John Adler's position on this issue, just as his mentor George Bush deceived the American people on the Iraq war and the economy."
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
http://www.politickernj.com/kantonello/24110/house-republican-leader-transportation-john-mica-joins-myers-ocean-county-officials
No comments:
Post a Comment