[All] Please write to Record re Aissa ads

[Eleanor Grant]

Hi All,

There's a lot of misinformation about LRT being circulated by the Jay Aissa
campaign.  If you haven't heard his radio ads, please go to the votejay.ca
web site and watch the little video.

Need letters refuting these falsehoods!  I've already sent a letter saying
to vote for incumbents on Reg Ccl, and mentioning lrt in passing. So I
can't write another one.  Anyway, some voices they haven't heard from
before wd be good. (Please DON'T circulate his video.)

Here are some talking points suggested by Mike Boos of TriTAG:

- "something you know you're never going to use" - 25k people a day, less
congestion on roads, drives development for better community

- "going to cost taxpayers over one billion dollars" - $818M capital, only
$253 from Regional property taxes

- "the LRT will join two malls, two malls people already visit by car or
bus" - this one is obvious - our video (at tritag.ca ) can show the many
destinations in between

- "it's an expensive solution, for a non-existent problem" - cost of
alternatives, problem very real (growth, $500M in new road costs, etc)

- "debt has tripled since 2009" - an exaggeration, more like doubled (not
sure if this is a point we want to make)

- "and with projects like the LRT, it's projected to reach $1.5 billion" -
this is a flat-out lie - there is only $1.1B of debt-financed capital
spending projected between 2012-21, but since this is over a 10 year
period, during which some of this will be paid off, the debt levels
shouldn't reach this amount.

- "an affordable rapid transit plan that serves everyone" - Aissa hasn't
defined what he means by a rapid transit plan, what route it will take,
etc. He also doesn't explain how this could be affordable after $250M is
thrown away cancelling LRT

- "and keeps regional debt down" - again, capital costs of LRT will have
already been spent by Region before Aissa (God forbid) takes office.

Eleanor

PS Ken Seiling did a good interview with Greg Durocher of Camb Chamber of
Comm that explains the debt issue beautifully: munic aren't allowed to run
deficits like feds & prov, debt is only for large capital projects, such as
water treatment plant. Like diff betw credit card debt and a mortgage.
View it at http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=0q86u7GtTT4
or google the chamber.

E.
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