This week started off with good news for the purple line. The project was selected for federal funds, which will make private investment in the line more likely. On hump day the news was mixed. And, by Friday the story was anything but positive.
The Gazette (a local paper for Silver Spring and Takoma Park) had an above the fold headline entitled "Civil Groups May get Seat at Purple Line Discussion." According to the story, two MOCO council members are asking County Executive Isiah Leggett to transform the "Coalition of Purple Line Neighborhoods" into a formal task force that would interface with the MOCO's Department of Transportation and the Maryland Transit Administration as the final route is finalized and construction begins.
What's wrong with civil participation you ask? Well, it depends on how civic minded the participation will be. This could be good if the civic groups in the coalition push for added safety along the line, especially where pedestrians could cross the line, or better breaks for families and businesses whose property will be taken via eminent domain. But, it could also be a fox in the hen house moment. The Town of Chevy Chase, which has filed a lawsuit over the line, is in the coalition. If they get to meet regularly with the Maryland Transit Authority (MTA) and MOCO's Department of Transportation, they could turn NIMBYism into an executive level function. I'm sorry, but the lawsuit makes it hard for me to trust their motives.
The news on Friday was worse. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) sent a warning letter to Montgomery County officials reminding them that federal contracting rules do not permit discrimination against potential bidders. Some context. One of the companies involved in the bidding as an affiliate is the French company SCNF. During World War II SCNF transported Jews to Nazi death camps. The Maryland House of Delegate's Kirill Reznik (Democrat, Montgomery County, District 39) has introduced a bill to force SCNF to pay reparations to victims of the Holocaust and their surviving family members.
SCNF says the company was taken over by the Nazis during the Vichy regime, which collaborated with the Hitler during World War II. They have also paid reparations, but only to French victims/family members. No Americans have received reparations.
Reznik says his bill isn't designed to kill the purple line (he counts himself as a supporter). And, he has suggested he'll change the bill to prevent scuttling the project. But, the testimony to Maryland House and Senate committees from survivors and their family members was a brutal reminder of wartime atrocities and the collaboration of many companies that allowed it to happen. If SCNF wins the contract, it will cast a pall over the project. Let's hope it doesn't.
just out of curiosity dose that mean the federnal government won't do business with businesses that participated in the enslavement of Africans trade, or the genocide of Native Americans".
ReplyDeleteI think the non discrimination clause was originally established to make sure that minority owned businesses would get a fair shake when bids were being reviewed for government contracts. I see this as something similar to the fights over affirmative action. Discrimination is being 'redefined'--it is being claimed by people and groups who wouldn't be typically defined as subject to discrimination.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be surprised if the company that SCNF is affiliating with didn't make an informal complaint to the FTA. It doesn't help that MOCO is right next door to DC and the FTA. What might have been a very local fight is getting national attention in the Washington Post. And, FTA decided to respond with its letter. It is ironic to say the least.
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