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Will Hallman say “no thanks” to Tempe bridge? September 15th, 2008, 1:18 pm Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman faces a real public test of his standing with the Republican Party in connection to some pork-barrelling politics that has benefited his city. Hallman was in St. Paul, Minn., at the Republican National Convention earlier this month, where vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin explained why their party no longer should support Alaskan bridges to nowhere and other pet spending projects that lawmakers insert into budget bills to the detriment of taxpayers in other parts of the country. The Tribune Editorial Board noted today an interesting parallelbetween the Alaskan issue and a proposed pedestrian bridge over Tempe Town Lake that will be funded mostly from federal dollars set aside in highway funding bills. The scale of the two projects certainly were different ($400 million for the Ketchikan bridge vs. $5.7 million for the Tempe bridge). But the principle is the same, isn’t it? Hallman may be a loyal Republican, but he’s the leading statesman for the East Valley’s most liberal community. That puts him in a position to advocate for policies and spending ideas that drive some Republicans crazy, such as light rail. Still, Arizona Sen. John McCain has built his campaign for president, in part, on his absolute refusal to seek pork-barrel spending that the Tempe bridge seems to represent. (Former Rep. J.D. Hayworth, R-Ariz., was the bridge’s primary champion.) As construction of the Tempe bridge isn’t slated to start until January, Hallman has an opportunity to at least try to follow Palin’s example and say “thanks, but no thanks” while the issue is in the spotlight. Or will Hallman defy the leadership being offered by his party’s standard bearers? I wish I had some inkling to Hallman’s answer. But so far, the mayor hasn’t responded to my editorial board colleague Mark Scarp, who has been trying to speak to Hallman about this issue since Wednesday. |