Tea Party homophobe and Troy, Michigan Mayor Janice Daniels led the way to the city losing out on $8.4 million in federal transportation funding for a state-of-the-art transit center this week.
After a decade of planning, a regional transit center is off the table after the Troy council voted Monday to pass up a design contract that would have paved the way for $8.4 million in federal funding to build it.A divided council listened to residents, stakeholders and engineers speak for about two hours before turning down, in a 4-3 vote, an architectural and engineering contract to design the facility. The decision puts an end to a project that polarized the community.
By voting not to award the contract to build the transit center, the council essentially forfeited the $8.4 million in federal grant money.
“This has been going on for at least 10 years,” said newly elected Mayor Janice Daniels, adding she and some council candidates advocated against it in campaigning for office.
“We were not going to approve this transit center. We didn’t believe it was the right way to use taxpayers’ money or to move this city forward in a positive and vibrant way.”
She’s not making any friends with the business community (“job creators” in GOPspeak) with this move.
“What tipped me over on this project was the business community,” said [city council member Dane] Slater. “We need to help the business community. They want this. They think it will benefit them.”Supporters said the project would keep the city competitive and attract and keep businesses and younger families. But opponents, including Daniels and two council members argued it’s unnecessary and may be costly to run and maintain.
Ironically, though she decries it as a waste of taxpayer money, she thinks the city should pay for it themselves saying “the city should pay for the project on its own and that Troy should designate a savings account for the transit center and add reserve funds each year” according to the report.
How’s that whole elect-a-tea-party-mayor thing working out for you, Troy?
