This time around, in their rematch for governor, the differences between Martin O'Malley and Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. on transportation issues are stark.
Unlike 2006, when the two substantially agreed on the state's largest road project, in 2010 the Democratic incumbent and Republican challenger are at odds on billion-dollar decisions that could determine how Marylanders will get from place to place for decades to come.
If O'Malley is re-elected, he will almost certainly keep Maryland on a course toward construction of two long-sought but expensive light rail systems — the $1.8 billion Red Line in Baltimore and the $1.6 billion Purple Line in the Washington suburbs. As governor, Ehrlich supported the planning process on both lines, but has turned against them as proposed by O'Malley. The Republican has vowed to scuttle light rail on both lines, saying rapid bus lines are his preferred choice.
The two candidates, both of whom answered questions from The Baltimore Sun last week, also have significant differences over the question of financing transportation. O'Malley expressed his views in a face-to-face interview, while Ehrlich provided written answers to questions submitted by the newspaper.
For Ehrlich, the transit issue has complicated his relationship with business leaders, who tend otherwise to be receptive to Republican appeals. In the populous suburbs of Washington, the influential Greater Washington Board of Trade is an enthusiastic supporter of light rail on the Purple Line. The Greater Baltimore Committee is equally committed to O'Malley's plan for the Red Line.
The Board of Trade, which supported Ehrlich in his 2002 and 2006 runs for governor, cited the Purple Line last week when it threw its endorsement to O'Malley. The GBC does not endorse candidates, but has expressed misgivings about Ehrlich's stance on the Red Line.
In the past, both men have shown a willingness to raise revenues for transportation — O'Malley through taxation in 2007, and Ehrlich in the form of fees in 2004.
In the 2007 special General Assembly session called to deal with budget issues, O'Malley raised about $400 million a year for transportation by raising the titling tax and by increasing the sales tax and devoting a part of the proceeds to the Transportation Trust Fund. The fund, which collects roughly $2.7 billion in state funds each year to pay for transportation infrastructure, has been under severe pressure in recent years to keep up with growing demand for maintenance and expansion.
Ehrlich has vowed to roll back the sales tax increase from 6 percent to 5 percent, though he indicated he would continue to dedicate a percentage to transportation. He estimated that the rollback would cost the Transportation Trust Fund no more than $48 million each year — a number he called "manageable." He said he has no plans to cut the titling tax, which is, in effect, a sales tax on cars.
The two governors' priorities — expressed in hard dollars — also have differed significantly. O'Malley has brought about a clear shift in projected capital spending away from highways and in favor of transit projects.
In Ehrlich's last transportation plan as governor, the state projected capital spending of roughly 28 cents on the Maryland Transit Administration — which administers buses, light rail, the Baltimore Metro and MARC — for every dollar spent on highways in fiscal 2008. O'Malley's plan for 2012 calls for spending 50 cents on the MTA for every dollar on the highways.
In four years under O'Malley the percentage of capital transportation funding directed to highways has declined from 54 percent to 48 percent. Meanwhile the combined total for the MTA and Washington Metro system has grown from 28 percent to 35 percent.
O'Malley said the shift is consistent with the platform he campaigned on in 2006. He added that as two major road projects — the Intercounty Connector and the express tolls lanes on Interstate 95 northeast of Baltimore — wind down, and if the proposed light rail lines move forward as expected later this decade, the shift could become more pronounced.
"We can't build enough roads to ease the congestion that's coming," he said. "We have to find other options."
Ehrlich said O'Malley's spending on transit is "out of balance'" because the governor has wasted millions of dollars on planning light rail systems that he said "can't be built without massive tax increases."
"My administration would restore the balance between working on transit and highways by setting realistic priorities," he said.
O'Malley has also held the line on bus and rail fares at a time when transit agencies across the country have been charging more for their services. He said he hopes to keep fares stable for another four years in the hope of attracting more riders, with the goal of doubling ridership.
Ehrlich didn't criticize O'Malley's fare freeze but said there is a trade-off between stable fares and service quality.
"Once in office we will have to look for the right balance between improving transit services and maintaining transit fares," he said. The former governor rejected a proposal by some General Assembly Republicans to adopt a cost-recovery formula that could force a roughly 50 percent increase in fares.
During his four-year term, Ehrlich put the weight of his office solidly behind highways. His No. 1 priority, which he successfully steered to federal approval after a half-century of starts and stops, was the $2.5 billion Intercounty Connector, a toll highway that will run from Gaithersburg to Laurel.
O'Malley has continued work on the ICC and the other mega-project launched under Ehrlich — the $994 million widening of I-95 between Baltimore and White Marsh — but scaled the latter project back and delayed completion to shift Maryland Transportation Authority funds into the maintenance of existing facilities.
Ehrlich called the changes to the project — eliminating interchanges to Route 43 and the Beltway — "a real shame."
The Republican has also faulted O'Malley for diverting the highway user funds, which the state usually provides to local governments each year for road projects, in order to help close budget shortfalls in fiscal 2010 and 2011
As a former mayor who depended on such funds, O'Malley said, he "hated" to make that cut.
"I went to it reluctantly and went to it only as the other options were exhausted," he said. "I hope it can be one of the first things we can restore as revenues can come back."
But the governor refused to commit a specific amount to local aid, saying he doesn't have a "crystal ball" on revenue collections.
Ehrlich has promised to restore one-quarter of that money in his first year in office — suggesting he would use $80 million O'Malley wants to direct toward engineering on the Red and Purple lines.
The rivals have also clashed over the future of the state's MARC commuter train system. After a Penn Line train was stranded on the tracks outside Washington for two hours in the stifling heat in June, Ehrlich attacked O'Malley's stewardship of MARC, again suggesting that Red and Purple line money could be redirected into improvements.
O'Malley countered that a deficit in MARC investments during Ehrlich's administration had hurt the system. The governor said his administration had doubled capital spending on MARC — investing in 13 new railcars and 26 new locomotives — even at a time when the transportation budget was under stress. In fact, Maryland Transportation Department figures show an increase from $102 million in Ehrlich's last budget to $195 million in 2010.
"The Hell Train incident allowed Bob Ehrlich to discover the MARC train," O'Malley said.
Ehrlich responded that his administration was quicker to react to MARC problems and "did not experience the horrific occurrences of the O'Malley administration."
Even more than MARC, it is the Red Line and Purple Line that divide the two candidates. Ehrlich contends that Maryland can't afford to build two new light rail lines; O'Malley says the state can't afford not to.
O'Malley chose light rail as the preferred mode on the two lines in 2009 after a long period of public hearings and consensus-building. The current plans for both lines have drawn the support of a strong majority of local elected officials; hearings showed little demand for bus rapid transit — a system that would separate the vehicles from other traffic for significant stretches of their route.
The governor remains vague on the question of how Maryland would pay its presumed 50 percent cost of building any new transit line the federal government might approve — noting that the Congress could alter that formula when it takes up a new transportation spending bill. He mentioned the possibility of a public-private partnership, though there isn't much precedent for such deals in the heavily subsidized world of mass transit.
Nevertheless, he expresses confidence that a way can be found.
"We have completed important transportation projects before in our past, and we are still a great state and can still do these things," he said.
Ehrlich said O'Malley's mode selection process was "biased in favor of high-cost, neighborhood-killing light rail." In the case of the Red Line, he said, the O'Malley plan is a "boondoggle driven by a handful of developers" that would actually harm east-west mobility. Ehrlich said he would "restart the process" and work toward a consensus among the "realistic alternatives."
One issue on which the two candidates' public statements are not far apart is the gasoline tax. Despite continued pressure from the GBC, the Board of Trade and some General Assembly Democrats, neither says he is prepared to raise the 23.5-cent-a-gallon levy, which has remained unchanged since the early 1990s.
Ehrlich has all but ruled out any increase during the next four years.
"We faced that issue in my first term, and I concluded the gas tax should not be increased," said. "I haven't changed my mind."
O'Malley said he continues to support a proposal — rejected by the legislature in 2007 — to index the current gasoline tax to inflation. Such a move could shield the state from revenue losses if the price of gasoline spikes as it did in 2008, cutting into travel miles.
But the governor said he's not planning to propose any increase in the basic rate.
"The broader public doesn't share the GBC or Board of Trade's view," he said.
michael.dresser@baltsun.com
Transportation Issues
Red/Purple lines: O'Malley proposes light rail lines in both Baltimore and the Washington suburbs. Ehrlich says he'd scrap them but would consider rapid bus service.
Transportation Trust Fund: Ehrlich wants a sales tax rollback that could cost the fund up to $48 million a year. O'Malley opposes that idea.
Local highway funds: Ehrlich promises to restore at least one-quarter of the more than $300 million O'Malley diverted to balance the budget. O'Malley says he wants to restore that as soon as possible, but won't pledge a specific figure.
MARC: Ehrlich faults O'Malley's handling of MARC and suggests he would spend more on it. O'Malley points out he's nearly doubled MARC funds since taking office.
Gas tax: O'Malley sees no need for an increased rate but likes the idea indexing it to inflation. Ehrlich rejects any increase.