Trains, clubs, and fathers (03-04-2025--Hour1)

[00:00:04] What's going on? Thank you so much for listening to this podcast. It is heard live every day from noon to 3 on WBT Radio in Charlotte. And if you want exclusive content like invitations to events, the weekly live stream, my daily show prep with all the links, become a patron, go to thepeatkalendershow.com. Make sure you hit the subscribe button, get every episode for free, right to your smartphone or tablet. And again, thank you so much for your support.

[00:00:28] As we have begun doing here on our Tuesdays, we want to welcome to the program Andrew Dunn. He is the publisher of Longleaf Politics, longleafpol.com, and a contributing columnist to the McClatchy Papers, the Charlotte Observer and the News and Observer. Andrew, how are you today, sir? I'm doing fantastic. It's great to be back with you.

[00:00:49] Yes, sir. I appreciate it, as always. You're making the time for us. So who's ready for a tax increase for transit, right? In Charlotte, Mecklenburg. So I guess, so there's a piece of legislation that was filed by Senators Rabin, Craven, and Sawyer.

[00:01:09] And so I guess for people who want to see the transit plan funded with an additional one cent sales tax in Mecklenburg County, I guess this is a positive development? Yeah, I guess so. I mean, this has been in the works for years and years now. Charlotte's been wanting to do some big swing transit plan for really the past decade. The price tag keeps going up. The latest is something like $13 billion.

[00:01:38] And so they've been pushing for this one cent sales tax increase that would generate something like $400 million a year that would pay for it all. But the thing is that Charlotte has to get the General Assembly to sign off on a referendum to ask Charlotte voters if we're willing to pay for that increase. So, yeah, I mean, if you're in favor of the transit plan, this is a good step to have the bill filed. But I just don't see it passing yet. Really? Why not?

[00:02:09] Well, because there's still a really big disconnect between how the city of Charlotte is looking at transit and how the General Assembly is looking at transit. You know, how Speaker Dustin Hall was here the other day. And he had some offhand comment about when he takes, you know, Charlotte transit to Republicans in the General Assembly, they basically say, well, why are we going to raise taxes so that they can buy a bunch of trains? Really, how they're viewing it is, you know, Charlotte wants some shiny new toys.

[00:02:38] And I don't really blame them because that's kind of how Charlotte has treated transit for the last decade, decade and a half, as how can we get some new toys that's going to spur economic development. So until Charlotte comes around and starts talking about transit as actually transportation, how can we move people from point A to point B? How can we, you know, how can we use that to build the city that we want? There's just going to be no hope with the General Assembly.

[00:03:03] Now, you had a piece a couple of weeks ago at the Charlotte Observer, an op-ed there titled Republicans Can Save Charlotte From Itself on Transit. And you recommended that Republicans in the legislature should take control of Charlotte's transit plan, fix it, and then take the credit. So is that realistic, especially what I just heard you say about the sort of general attitude that, you know, Charlotte just wants some shiny toys?

[00:03:31] Is that a realistic thing that could even be attained at the legislature? I do think it's realistic, and it could happen. So one thing that I think is going to pass the General Assembly this year is some sort of transit authority for the Charlotte region. And that's part of the big compromise, quote-unquote, that Charlotte has reached with the General Assembly so far is, you know, Charlotte's on board with some sort of authority to oversee what all this money would do.

[00:04:00] The sticking point is going to be who gets to be on the authority. I mean, the city of Charlotte still wants it, a lot of, you know, local Charlotte political appointees. So I was arguing that it should be more General Assembly appointees, you know, people with expertise and knowledge here. So I think it's possible. The big problem is going to be, you know, your listeners might recall back, gosh, it's been 10, 15 years ago, where there was a bill that would put Charlotte's airport under an authority.

[00:04:28] And that was a huge blowup. You know, WBT covered it extensively. So how, you know, the question is, how can the General Assembly structure it in such a way that Charlotte's on board with it and doesn't turn it into a huge fiasco?

[00:04:42] Yeah, because it's always a problem, whether it's the Metropolitan Transit Commission or the planning organizations or any of these sort of larger regionalized bodies, is that Charlotte doesn't want to cede control by vote count, basically, to the six towns or the surrounding counties. But those areas, they don't want their votes to be ineffective either by having Charlotte control the entire board.

[00:05:09] So figuring out that that number balance has always been difficult, no matter what, it seems. Yeah, that's exactly right. And this is a little different than the airport in that, you know, the airport was in Charlotte's control. So it was taking something away. Okay, this doesn't exist yet, you know, this sales tax. So it's not quite the same. Hopefully it'll be a little easier. But, you know, I guess we'll see what comes out of committee. Yeah. All right.

[00:05:37] So another thing that you had written over at your Substack or your website. Is it Substack? Are you on Substack or is this just your own website? It's powered by Substack. It is. Okay. Longleaf, P-O-L, longleafpolitics.com. And so you got three things North Carolina Republican clubs should start doing. And you gave, obviously, three things. Local clubs can help find strong, electable conservatives.

[00:06:05] And you said the focus should be on somebody who is normal, competent, and can effectively communicate our values in the suburbs. So I wanted to ask you why the suburbs? Why that demographic? Yeah, it's a great question. And, you know, the suburbs are really where statewide races are won and lost in North Carolina. You know, the rural areas are very heavily Republican. Urban areas, obviously, very heavily Democrat.

[00:06:34] Suburbs have the potential to go back and forth. They've certainly been going a lot bluer over the last, call it, eight years. But I don't think that's irreversible. But Republicans have really done kind of a poor job over the last couple cycles, really emphasizing candidates who can speak effectively in the suburbs.

[00:06:58] And I think, you know, the whole column on my website came about because I've had the privilege to speak to some of these Republican clubs over the past month. And they're really, you know, kind of hidden powerhouses in the Republican Party in North Carolina. I mean, there's a lot of smart people there. A lot of elected officials go.

[00:07:16] And I just really see a lot of potential for those clubs to really increase their power in helping shape primaries and shape the candidates that will ultimately go to the statewide ballot. You also mentioned fundraising, collecting money should be a core mission for these Republican clubs.

[00:07:38] And then your third recommendation was that Republicans who traditionally they make it a rule, basically, to stay neutral in the party primaries. And you're saying, no, that shouldn't be the case anymore. And I think that would be a very big change for a lot of the party leadership, I think. It would be.

[00:08:05] And, you know, the North Carolina Republican Party has actually put it in their bylaws that the party is supposed to stay neutral in primaries. And all of these clubs are supposed to stay neutral. I think it's a mistake. I mean, because primaries are kind of by definition a party activity. You're trying to decide, you know, who the party's nominee is going to be. And just kind of leaving it open-ended and not allowing these clubs to have a voice in there.

[00:08:34] It just makes it kind of a free-for-all. I mean, primaries are already sort of low information, low turnout races. So anything that we can do to make sure that we're getting the best, strongest candidate for the Republican Party, I think, is a necessary step. And so that was another piece. Again, this is at longleafpol.com. You had another piece. And, you know, we're kind of blowing through these things because you create so much content that I read.

[00:09:03] So it's a busy. Yeah, exactly. The other piece I was reading the other day was, because it's published on the 3rd, Republican dads are leading by example. And this was one of the bizarre reactions I saw. It was with Elon Musk when he had his kid at the Oval Office. And there was all these attacks against him. Oh, he's using his kid as a prop or as a shield or something. And we got a couple examples in North Carolina that you mentioned.

[00:09:32] And dads just, you know, on the campaign trail or doing their jobs in elected office. And they bring their kids around. And you think this is a good sign. This is a good thing to do. Absolutely. I mean, there's kind of a broader sentiment in American culture right now that children hold people back, you know, that you can't, quote, unquote, have it all. I have a career, you know, have a leadership position and have a family. And that's just not true.

[00:10:01] And I think, you know, at the national level, Vice President J.D. Vance is doing a great job normalizing children and families. And then I highlight two people in North Carolina, Representative Mike Sheetselt and New Labor Commissioner Luke Farley. They've had their kids. They're both the fathers of young children. And they're both out and about, you know, openly, you know, being dads and public officials at the same time. And I think the message it sends to the broader culture is just so important. Yeah.

[00:10:30] I encourage people to head on over, subscribe, longleafpol.com, Longleaf Politics. You can also read Andrew's work at the Charlotte Observer and the News and Observer. And we'll talk with you again on Tuesday at noon. Same time. Andrew, thanks for your time again. I appreciate it. Thank you. All right. If you're listening to this show, you know I try to keep up with all sorts of current events. And I know you do, too. And you've probably heard me say, get your news from multiple sources. Why?

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[00:11:18] I started using Ground News a few months ago and more recently chose to work with them as an affiliate because it lets me see clearly how stories get covered and by whom. The Blind Spot feature shows you which stories get ignored by the left and the right. See for yourself. Check.ground.news slash Pete. Subscribe through that link and you'll get 15% off any subscription. I use the Vantage plan to get unlimited access to every feature.

[00:11:44] Your subscription then not only helps my podcast, but it also supports Ground News as they make the media landscape more transparent. So one of the in going back to the the transit issue here, because we are all maybe going to vote on another sales tax increase for transit here in Mecklenburg County, depending on what happens with the legislation. And I've got a copy of the Senate bill. And in front of me, I'm not going to read through all of the details.

[00:12:11] But don't worry, I will read through a piece of legislation later, but not about transit. OK, but a couple of the the notes here that I thought were pretty interesting. So apparently congestion begins slowing the employment growth rate in a region.

[00:12:32] At approximately 37 annual hours of commuter delay and commuter delay. So that's the first number you're looking at, 37 hours of delays. OK, per year on average in a region. OK, growth is halted altogether.

[00:12:58] At 180 annual hours of commuter delay. Right. This is according to the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, the Charlotte Concord Gastonia Metropolitan Statistical Area or the MSA. We hit 38 hours. So we were above the that 37 hour growth rate retardation level.

[00:13:27] And that's 38 hours we had in the year 2000. So 25 years ago, we hit 38 annual hours of delays. And right now or well, it's probably higher now. But in 2019, pre-pandemic, which, by the way, happy five year COVID anniversary, everybody. 53 hours is where we were in 2019. I have to imagine we're above that now.

[00:13:58] In 20 years, it is projected that the population of the Charlotte region is going to be. 50 percent higher. So right now, it's about 2.6 million people in the Charlotte metro, which that's Concord, Gastonia and Charlotte. So 2.6 million. And by the year 2045, it's projected that we'll be at 4.1 million.

[00:14:28] And so what Pat McQuarrie always talked about when he was pitching the blue line, right, the McQuarrie line, as it was referred to down South Boulevard, was that it's about creating options for people. So if you don't want to live on a light rail line, if you don't want to, you know, take the train into Center City or wherever, you don't have to. But if you want to, there is the option to do that. And it will direct more dense development in the urban core.

[00:14:59] And that then will, you know, theoretically, right, it frees up some of the road space outside of the urban core. And there is no scenario that I'm aware of, at least, where an urban core doesn't have congestion. That's kind of the deal. It's going to be loud. It's going to be crowded. And it's going to be congested. That's what you get when you live in a city, right, in a dense urban area. Those are the hallmarks of it. And if you don't want to live there, that's totally fine.

[00:15:29] See, I am a I'm an options guy. I want all of the above options there. So I'm not trying to force people into living in the suburbs or out in the country or in the city. But that was always the argument was to provide options. And according to Andrew Dunn, a lot of people have lost sight of that as sort of the the guiding philosophy. Here's a great idea.

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[00:17:18] They said they had achieved a breakthrough to advance the region's long-stalled transit plan after years of delays. And according to a write-up by Steve Harrison over at Charlotte Ledger, the main components are a new commuter rail to North Mecklenburg and maybe southern Iredale, known as the Red Line, an extension of the Blue Line light rail into Pineville and Ballantyne,

[00:17:45] and a new light rail line called the Silver Line. That was originally envisioned as running from the airport all the way down to Matthews. But now it appears like Matthews is not happy. I think they voted against recommendation for this plan because they're going to get a rapid bus transit line or a bus rapid transit BRT. They're not getting a light rail line under the plan because there's not enough money for it,

[00:18:14] because the legislature said, look, you can't do a mass transit plan and not have any funding in there for roads. And so they created this breakdown, a formula where the net proceeds for the sales tax revenue, 40% would go to roads, 40% would go to rail, and 20% would go to buses. So Matthews wants a train.

[00:18:40] They do not want a bus line. And then there is also an extension of the Gold Line streetcar down Beatty's Ford Road to the west and down Central Avenue to the east. And I think it's important to note here that that streetcar line, I call it the Anthony Foxx line because that was done in order to help Anthony Foxx secure the mayoral win, lo those many years ago,

[00:19:10] when he was a city council member and he was running against a fellow city council member, John Lasseter, a Republican, and the plan did not call for that streetcar line to leapfrog over other transit lines. But the east side was up in arms about how they were being neglected. They didn't want a bus rapid transit line either in East Charlotte. And so they came down and they were,

[00:19:35] you know, beating the drum for a light rail line. And so the streetcar was done in order to, and Lasseter opposed it because he's like, the plan is not for the streetcar line to leapfrog over the other projects. And the Democrats behind, you know, Anthony Foxx, they made it an issue and Foxx squeaked out the victory over John Lasseter in that mayor's race, the first, you know, mayor's race

[00:20:05] after Pat McCrory stepped down after, what, seven years or seven terms, rather, 14 years as Charlotte mayor. So that's sort of the background on that line. It never should have been built when it was. Now, the blue line, which was called by a lot of folks, the McCrory line, because Pat was the, you know, the lead cheerleader for the transit plan and for this first light rail line. You know, his argument was that this thing is supposed to be

[00:20:34] about giving people an option for transit. So if you don't want to drive in, you'll be able to take this train and you don't have to use it, but this will be available and it will revitalize the south end of Charlotte, which it has, right? It absolutely has. And according to Andrew Dunn in his piece over at the Charlotte Observer in his op-ed about this, it sparked a building boom that turned a rundown manufacturing district

[00:21:04] into one of the most desirable places to live and work in the entire city. Ever since then, and if you haven't been to South End recently, it's crazy. I was down there like three weeks, four weeks ago or something. I mean, it's almost unrecognizable to me because I remember it before the train line was built over there and there was really nothing down there. Ever since then, according to Dunn, Charlotte City Council has only seen dollar signs. They started looking at transit as a development strategy first

[00:21:33] and a transportation solution second. Hence, the gold line. And why every single transit map since then has been determined on the neighborhoods it runs through and not what makes the most sense to alleviate traffic and stay under budget. The city has adopted or updated its proposal to the city or to the state. So it includes more road funding. to create this, you know, governing authority

[00:22:02] to manage all of the billions of dollars that a one cent sales tax increase would generate. The governance model, though, might be tricky as it has been proposed. You know, stories are powerful. They help us make sense of things to understand experiences. Stories connect us to the people of our past while transcending generations. They help us process the meaning of life and our stories are told through images and videos. Preserve your stories with Creative Video. Started in 1997

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[00:23:30] that needed wheel bearings replaced and were supposed to be sent to California that kind of just went away, huh? Yeah. I have not seen or heard any updates regarding that Charlie Foxtrot of an operation and how they haven't been maintaining the rail cars and yeah, all the problems in the head. Although, I will say, I haven't heard of any derailments recently with the blue line down the south corridor. Like, that's...

[00:23:59] So that's a positive, right? That's a positive. We haven't heard of any derailments. But yeah, that... Gosh, when was that? Like, that was over a year ago where they had all the problems with the wheel bearings. They weren't being maintained and then it created the derailments and then, like, they had to, like, ship the entire truck system all the way across to, like, Texas or something. Yeah, just absolute mess. So, look, maybe under a

[00:24:29] transit authority things will improve? I'm just kidding. Now... Oh, man. I almost got through that sentence. Yeah, I don't know. It's just... I always feel like on these things where it's like you're just swapping out a different management structure for another, particularly when it comes to GovCo. So, I don't expect improvements, per se. You're just getting trade-offs, right? Again, no solutions, only trade-offs.

[00:24:58] Now, under this plan that was announced over the summer for a new authority, a transit authority, there would be 27 members on this body, which seems like a lot, right? Seems like a lot. There would be members appointed by the city of Charlotte, so the city gets 12 members of the 27. Mecklenburg County gets 12 members

[00:25:28] as well. But that would include six from the six towns. Okay? So, the county commission, they would get six, basically, and then each of the towns would get one. And so, this obviously creates a bit of a problem because if you are in one of those towns and you would like to influence the outcome of a particular approach

[00:25:58] when it comes to transit planning or routes or modes or whatever, even if you were to band together with all of the other towns, you only have six votes. And the city of Charlotte has 12 of the 27. So then you would need to peel off some of the either county commissioner votes at six or you would need to peel off some votes maybe from the Charlotte City Council itself, right? Or you would need to peel off some votes from the General Assembly.

[00:26:28] They have two and the governor has one. So you're automatically just by the nature of the way the body is constructed, you are already at a disadvantage if you are trying to, like if an issue comes up and I'm not identifying a particular issue, although I guess one could be the bus rapid transit line down to Matthews, right? They want a light rail line. And there are reasons for that.

[00:26:58] You know, I think there's a I don't know, there's a there's a certain aesthetic reason to it, right? Like it's it's cooler to have a train than it is to have just buses, right? And the bus would operate in its own dedicated lane and I'm assuming it would go down Independence Blvd. The problem though is that it is a lot more expensive, right? I think it was the most expensive line because there's no existing

[00:27:27] rail that runs down there, whereas the south line, the blue line, and the one going up to North Meck, the red line, those now like where they've been talking, I think they negotiated the deal a couple of months ago where Norfolk Southern would sell them that rail line that's up there. So you don't even have to pay for the installation of the rail. And you'll have the dedicated right-of-way and all of that. It's already there. So you got the grade crossings and everything. You don't have to worry

[00:27:56] about building a brand new rail line from scratch. So that keeps the cost down versus the one to Matthews, unless they can find another rail line that's there. But the other thing is that, and this is what the east side residents were complaining about when bus rapid transit was initially slated for the east line, but also now down to Matthews, also bus rapid transit, is that the bus stops can be moved way more easily. And the way you spur development around the bus stations

[00:28:26] or the stops is to have permanence. Developers are not going to come in there and blow the area up with a whole bunch of apartment buildings and stuff and mixed-use retail and all of that. They're not going to do that if they know that the bus stop can be just picked up and moved. And that's the benefit of bus stops. If a route gets low ridership, you could just move the route. You don't have to worry about ripping down stations and stuff. And so they've always wanted

[00:28:56] the train stations because you get development around those train stations and then that increases the tax base. See? Like, that's the play. And that's what Andrew Dunn references in his piece over at the Charlotte Observer from a couple of weeks ago. And it is true. But is the primary mission moving people or is it development? All right, that'll do it for this episode. Thank you so much for listening. I could not do the show without your

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