- No TransLink Tax corrects YES campaign’s spin
VANCOUVER, B.C.: The No TransLink Tax campaign today corrected several erroneous and false comments made by TransLink Mayors and other Yes side supporters this week.
Yes Spin: “I know of no Plan B if this fails,” claimed City of North Vancouver Mayor Darrell Mussatto. January 30, 2015.
The Facts: Surrey Mayor Linda Hepner has already stated she has a Plan B for building light rail in Surrey. TransLink has already confirmed that the Pattullo Toll Bridge is not tied to the TransLink sales tax – it will be built with either a Yes or No vote. There is indeed a Plan B for two-thirds of the large infrastructure projects.
Yes Spin: “They [the No TransLink Tax campaign] haven’t come up with what a better funding source is,” claimed Port Coquitlam Mayor Greg Moore. February 3, 2015.
The Facts: The No TransLink Tax campaign has a plan (backed by a 50-page accountant’s analysis) that would fully fund the TransLink Mayors’ wishlist without a sales tax: www.notranslinktax.ca/betterplan. It would earmark 0.5 per cent of local government’s 4.8 per cent annual revenue growth rate to transportation.
Yes Spin: “You found the only guy opposed,” claimed Moore of Jordan Bateman. February 3, 2015.
The Facts: Moore need only look across his Metro Vancouver board table and remember fellow mayors Derek Corrigan, Nicole Read and Michael Smith have all advocated NO votes. As have thousands of taxpayers.
Yes Spin: “This isn’t a TransLink referendum,” claimed Moore. February 3, 2015.
The Facts: The TransLink Mayors’ plan bloats TransLink’s annual budget from $1.4 billion to $2.2 billion. Further, TransLink will manage, build, operate, schedule and own the new infrastructure in the TransLink Mayors’ wish list.
Yes Spin: Pressed on “how many zeroes” will be attached to the cost of winning voter support, Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson said it was too early to offer any forecast. February 2, 2015.
The Facts: TransLink is spending at least $4 million of taxpayer money on this campaign – plus whatever Vancouver, Surrey, Richmond, New Westminster and Port Coquitlam taxpayers chip in.
Yes Spin: “We want to put our money where our mouth is,” said Robertson. February 2, 2015.
The Facts: Tax dollars are *our* money, not the Mayor’s. You’re putting OUR money where YOUR mouth is – and that shouldn’t be the case. As the Vancouver Sun says: “It is difficult not to concur with a view from Jordan Bateman, of the taxpayers federation: ‘We pay taxes to provide services, not to try to buy votes.’ If Robertson has as strong a case as he contends, the mayor — like the taxpayers federation — should be able to raise money for his cause from supporters in the community. Then, if the Yes side wins, Robertson will be able to claim to have won fair and square.”
Bonus Bozo Eruption: Yes organizer Peter Ladner tweeted that we need to “vote YES to end car terrorism”– before taking it down when he was criticized.