>Small wonder, then, that Minor has made this a cottage industry. This is more a saga than a single article. There’s the problem, the official reaction to the same, and, of course, the stories of frustrated riders to cover. Plenty of grist for the mill.
Receiving noticeably (and undeservedly) less attention from him, however, is RTD’s ballot question for this Fall. At the same time they are struggling to keep the trains running, RTD is asking to renew their authorization to keep their Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) surplus, and make it permanent this time. Meaning that they want to keep the money that is due to be refunded to you and to never have to ask again.
If the stories about the light rail issues have been a flood, Minor’s coverage about the ballot measure has been a drip. This glaring disparity is confusing to me. It’s most certainly a worthy topic for a transportation reporter to consider the light rail problems. It’s a worthy topic to allow riders a voice in the public square about what the light rail disruption has done. RTD is, after all, a giant government entity responsible for millions of both tax and fare dollars a year.
But that last one is the sticking point. RTD, like most transit agencies, comes nowhere close to being self-sufficient. That is, the revenue that they get from fares is a small percentage of the total revenue needed to keep the buses and trains (not) running, and the vast majority of people living in the district don’t actually use RTD services regularly. While it’s appropriate to discuss the train problems and their impact on transit riders, shouldn’t the folks who largely foot the bill get a look in?
In other words, why are the voices of a small minority seemingly more important than those of the majority? A majority, incidentally, whose wallets will be greatly affected by the proposed ballot measure. To give you a clear example, consider Minor’s most recent effort on this topic: paragraphs on the concerns of riders and the response of RTD leadership at their latest meeting. Only if you stick around to the quickie grab bag at the end do you see, lumped in with other tidbits, something akin to “oh yeah, and the RTD board decided to approve their ballot question for this Fall.”
I was at that meeting. I asked that the board please reword their ballot measure to be a little more reflective of the truth (that this ballot measure is an effective tax increase on those that live in, or buy things in, the eight-county RTD taxing district). I asked them to remember that they don’t generate income, they take it, that the money they have came from me and leaves me and my family with less.
A friend who was at the meeting later told me that a total of 6 people testified similarly to me. There were those that testified in favor of the measure too. I myself heard them while waiting my turn and that same friend told me that later on the board mentioned receiving a letter of support for the ballot measure from 17-plus non-governmental organizations.
None of those voices made it into the article. None of those voices have anywhere near the representation that riders enjoy with Minor and CPR.
Again, I’m not saying that the concerns or voices of the riders don’t matter. They do. Nor am I here to say that those that feel as I do about the de-TABORing ballot measure should have exclusive access to the public forum or CPR’s platform.
I am here to point out that with regard to RTD and Nathaniel Minor (and sadly many other cases) the people who foot the bill don’t seem to have a voice. All too often, the interests that capture a reporter or outlet’s attention, no matter how small, seem to get the media’s ear. You and the rest of the masses who get to fund things all too often don’t.
Imagine how things would look if everyday people, especially the people who may not be as politically engaged as I am, got a chance to have their opinions be part of the conversation. Think of the shift in the conversation when someone who doesn’t use a service but gets to pay for it has the floor.
Those who foot the bill should get their say as well.
Cory Gaines is a regular contributor to Complete Colorado. He lives in Sterling on Colorado’s Eastern Plains and also writes at the Colorado Accountability Project substack
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