It’s Super Tuesday; Do You Know Where the Candidates Stand?

Because transportation has played such a minuscule role as a campaign issue thus far (as the Los Angeles Times has noted), it can be difficult for a concerned voter to gauge where the candidates stand on improving our nation’s transportation system.  Even candidates that support balanced transportation do not necessarily elaborate with policy details.  Nonetheless, here’s a roundup of the public record thus far.

NARP thanks member James Toy for pointing us to this St. Paul Pioneer Press feature that asked each campaign, “What would your candidate do to improve the nation’s transportation infrastructure?”

Streetsblog compiled statements of the Republicans and Democrats, and covered a transportation and infrastructure forum attended by candidates’ representatives.

Smart Growth Around America also compiled the positions on “energy, smart growth, and climate change” of the Republicans and Democrats.

Ultimately, candidate statements do not necessarily equal action in office.  But the more citizens let them know that investing in a balanced transportation system is crucial to the future health of our economy, environment, and quality of life, the more likely they are to remember our cause in the future.  A commitment to strengthen our transportation network, especially with more and better train service, is a highly beneficial policy that also happens to be politically rewarding.

—Matthew Melzer