BY PATRICK GUINANE. Times of Northwest Indiana
pguinane@nwitimes.com
INDIANAPOLIS | This is where the persuasion hits the pavement.
Gov. Mitch Daniels and supporters have mounted an aggressive 11th hour push to pass his Major Moves highway construction plan. But even his Republican allies aren't sure the campaign is enough to win the hearts of residents and votes of legislators before the General Assembly adjourns Tuesday.
"I haven't any idea," Sen. Sue Landske, R-Cedar Lake, said when asked whether she thought Major Moves could attract at least 26 votes in the Senate and 51 in the House.
Negotiators planned to spend the weekend working out legislation allowing Daniels to lease the Indiana Toll Road to Cintra-Macquarie, a Spanish-Australian consortium offering $3.85 billion for the right to run the 157-mile road and collect tolls over 75 years.
Much is at stake -- dozens of long-sought road projects, tens of thousands of construction jobs and $100 million in long-term funding for the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority.
Daniels sought to ease the partisan struggle late last week, releasing an independent analysis to refute Democrats' claims that he is selling Hoosiers short. Macquarie CEO Stephen Allen, of Australia, even met with legislators to allay fears associated with foreign control.
Daniels' final outreach effort, a series of TV commercials, is airing in South Bend, Fort Wayne, Evansville and Indianapolis, but not in the expensive Chicago media market of Northwest Indiana.
"I don't know if he's tried to reach any of our constituents or not," Landske said. "He may be trying now and he should have been doing this probably a month and a half or two months ago."
It appears only a handful of Democrats -- at most -- will vote for Major Moves and Landske isn't the only Republican who wishes Daniels PR push had started sooner.
"It's definitely late," said House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis. "I knew, particularly in northern Indiana, that there would be an emotion attachment (to the Toll Road) that would have to be addressed."
Democrats, meanwhile, raise questions about who is bankrolling the ad blitz.
Aiming Higher, an advocacy group run by Daniels' former campaign manager, has put up $60,000.
"I don't know who those people are, but they've thrown an enormous amount of money at this," said Sen. Karen Tallian, D-Ogden Dunes.
As a nonprofit, Aiming Higher doesn't have to adhere to state campaign finance laws. It has raised more than $300,000 this year, much of it in contributions of $25,000 or more from unions and engineering firms that stand to gain from Major Moves.
If Major Moves is to pass, negotiators must find common ground on plans to build a possible tollway extension of Interstate 69 from Indianapolis to Evansville. Local concerns over the route and tolls could cost Senate votes.
A possible toll freeze and funding for economic development drive debate in the House, where Major Moves could fail if more than one of 52 Republicans opposes the plan.
The final agreement -- if there is one -- is destined to disappoint someone, said Sen. Frank Mrvan, D-Hammond.
"All kinds of promises are being made. Some promises can't be kept," he said.
"In our case, we were promised the money for the RDA and now, all the sudden, we find ourselves negotiating for money that is already supposed to be ours. That's wrong."