Capitol Protest Rally - May 3, 2005

Citizens Against the Trans-Texas Corridor protest rally at the Capitol in Austin on Tuesday, May 3, 2005 was a tremendous success! Hundreds upon hundreds of Texans from all over the state participated in the giant rally on the Capitol steps. They heard Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn proclaim the project the "Trans-Texas Catastrophe" and Perry's associates, "land-grabbing highway henchmen."

Perry spokesman Robert Black told reporters at the rally that Strayhorn has supported toll roads in the past. Apparently the Governor doesn't get it - it not about toll roads. It about taxing Texans for roads they've already paid for once. It's about taking private property to create a state sponsored corporate monopoly to generate a profit on that land through tolls, fees and leases. It's about excessive taking of private property and the damage that will do to local economies and the resulting loss of local property tax for counties and school districts. It's about secret 50-year deals with no oversight. It's about accountability and transparency. It's about the abusive use of state power in the pursuit of money. It's not about transportation and it certainly isn't about toll roads.