State Senator Steve Peace’s full time employment act for termed out legislators is one of the worst ideas to come around in a long time. His vision of a regional countywide superagency creates a huge overlapping bureaucracy, and it is a waste of taxpayers dollars. Peace’s San Diego Regional Infrastructure and Transportation Agency, (RITA) establishes a loss of local control and is not a representative form of government held accountable by the voters. For these reasons and others, I oppose RITA.
RITA is proposed as an encompassing bureaucracy that is to take over San Diego County’s transportation agencies, SANDAG, the Air Quality Management District, the Port District and portions of the Border Development Zone.
If the State Legislature passes RITA, San Diego County’s voters will be virtually left out of the loop during the first few years of RITA’s existence. Initially, RITA will be comprised of 10 members, all appointed by California Governor Gray Davis. The first of four RITA seats will come up for elections in the November 2002 General Election. This is after the agency has been staffed and their mission objectives have been implemented. Coincidentally, this is when Senator Steve Peace will be forced out of the legislature due to term-limits. That is why I call RITA, the “Steve Peace Full Employment Act.” It gives him a job closer to home, after being forced out of the legislature.
While the RITA legislation does everything to create a new bureaucracy, it does not eliminate the existing ones. Shamefully, RITA would become a huge bureaucratic layer on top of the other agencies.
We know that SANDAG and other agencies have major problems. If we can not streamline them and make these agencies more efficient, then they should be eliminated and their decision making authorities should be vested with the County Board of Supervisors. The 5 Supervisors have been duly elected by San Diegans to implement what is best for the County and it is the voters duty to hold them accountable. We don’t need RITA to make countywide decisions relegating local government to the back of the bus and giving our elected officials only advisory roles to the new superagency.
The RITA bill could be heard in February or March in the State Assembly and Republicans plan to oppose RITA. Unfortunately, the Democrats are running the state and RITA could become law without a single Republican vote.
RITA is a bad deal for the voters and the taxpayers of San Diego County. If Senator Peace, resurrects SB 329 this year, he is going to have a fight on his hands. I am not willing to turn over San Diego County projects and decisions on how to spend our tax dollars to Steve Peace and his gang of 10.
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