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Governor opposes fast train measure
By JULIE HAUSERMAN © St. Petersburg Times, published October 6, 2000 TALLAHASSEE -- Gov. Jeb Bush said Thursday he opposes a citizen initiative that would force the state to build fast trains to link its biggest cities. "The uncertainty of this is what gets me concerned," Bush said. The initiative -- led by Republican multimillionaire C.C. "Doc" Dockery from Lakeland -- asks voters to change the state Constitution to force officials to build a train network that would rocket between Florida's five largest cities at speeds above 120 mph. If voters approve it, the state would have to start laying tracks by 2003. Dockery says the high-speed rail network would help ease clogged roads and give seniors and others who can't drive the freedom to move around. Bush has long been suspicious of high-speed rail. Two weeks after taking office, he killed the state's $6.3-billion plan to build the network. Dockery collected more than 600,000 signatures to get the issue before voters for the Nov. 7 general election. Opponents say the constitutional amendment is dangerous because it doesn't say how much the high-speed rail system will cost or how government will pay for it. It does say the government might enter into a public-private partnership to get the job done. The amendment also doesn't say which five cities would be linked; that decision would be made later by the Florida Legislature. Bush said Thursday he worried the high-speed rail plan might take money from other priorities, including his "Mobility 2000" road-building initiative. So far, Dockery said, he has spent more than $1.5-million of his own money to make high-speed rail a reality in Florida. Bush isn't the only high-ranking state official to come out against the idea: Department of Transportation Secretary Thomas Barry opposes it, as does the Florida Transportation Commission, a group appointed by the governor to look at transportation needs.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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From the Times state desk
From the state wire
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