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A political action committee affiliated with Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) has launched a series of Facebook ads aimed at three Montgomery County leaders who have opposed his plan to add toll-funded 鈥渆xpress鈥� lanes to Interstate 270 and the Capital Beltway.
The ads, sponsored by Change Maryland, the PAC that propelled Hogan to the governor鈥檚 office in 2014, target Montgomery County Executive Marc B. Elrich (D), Council President Tom Hucker (D) and Del. Marc A. Korman (D).
They began running on Tuesday, according to聽.
Backers of Hogan鈥檚 proposal to add four privately financed 鈥淗igh Occupancy Toll鈥� lanes to the two roads cheered his willingness to push back against the trio. Critics of the project said the ads are proof that opponents of the controversial project are having an impact.
The ads repeat Hogan claims that his proposal would end the capital region鈥檚 鈥渟oul-crushing traffic鈥� without the use of public funds.
鈥淥ur Traffic Relief Plan will rebuild and widen the American Legion Bridge, which means more jobs and less traffic at no cost to the taxpayers. But Montgomery County politicians are trying to block all of our bipartisan progress,鈥� one of the ads states.
鈥淒on鈥檛 let them play partisan politics with fixing Maryland鈥檚 traffic crisis. Let County Executive Marc Elrich, County Councilman Tom Hucker, and State Delegate Marc Korman know that we鈥檝e had enough of the soul-crushing traffic and demand that they stop blocking our Traffic Relief Plan.鈥�
Another ad urges Facebook users to tell the three elected officials to 鈥渄o the right thing for our environment and the right thing for Montgomery County by supporting this common-sense traffic relief plan.鈥�
A third ad accuses the officials of playing 鈥減artisan politics with Montgomery County鈥檚 Traffic crisis.鈥�
The officials named in the ads pushed back against Hogan鈥檚 claims.
鈥淢ontgomery County has been formally asking Gov. Hogan to fix the American Legion Bridge with our state tax dollars each year that he has been in office,鈥� said Hucker. 鈥淎nd each year, he has refused to prioritize it in the budget. As everyone knows, Montgomery County officials have no legal authority over the Bridge or interstate highways.鈥�
鈥淣o progress has been made on the fixes to the American Legion Bridge that we desperately need because of Governor Hogan鈥檚 refusal to fund its improvements,鈥� Hucker added. 鈥淩unning blatantly dishonest ads attacking local and state elected officials is beneath the office of the Governor.鈥�
Korman, who co-chaired an occasionally tense hearing on Hogan鈥檚 plan on Tuesday, chided Hogan for his regular appearances on national cable-news programs.
He called the ads 鈥渁bout as accurate as Change Maryland鈥檚 other ads on this project, but I鈥檓 glad the Governor took a break from cable news to focus on our state.鈥�
The ads also earned a rebuke from the Sierra Club, which accused Hogan of using them for 鈥渃over.鈥�
According to Change Maryland鈥檚 Facebook advertising, 鈥淭he Sierra Club and other leading environmental experts say that traffic is contributing to climate change,鈥� and that Hogan鈥檚 plan would 鈥渃lean up our air鈥� and 鈥渇ix鈥� Montgomery鈥檚 traffic 鈥渃risis.鈥�
Hogan 鈥渋s trying to use Sierra Club鈥檚 name to push his highway boondoggle, which we vehemently oppose,鈥� the organization said on Twitter on Friday. 鈥淭he ad is simply false & Gov. Hogan knows it.鈥�
The media blitz against the three Montgomery leaders comes at a crucial time for the project, which Hogan announced with great fanfare in 2017.
Last month, the capital region鈥檚 Transportation Planning Board聽聽plan from a list of projects to be subject to a federal environmental analysis, a necessary step in the process. The Hogan administration and others are hoping to engineer a re-vote at the board鈥檚 July meeting.
In addition, a consortium that bid unsuccessfully on a $54 million 鈥減redevelopment鈥� contract has protested the Maryland Department of Transportation鈥檚 decision to go with Acclerate Maryland Partners, a group backed by two Australian firms, toll-road operator Transurban and Macquarie Capital.
If the consortium, Capital Express Mobility Partners, loses its appeal as expected, a lawsuit is considered likely.
Elrich said he wondered how much money Transurban contributed to Change Maryland. A 501(c)(4), the PAC is not required to list its contributors.
David Weiman, a spokesman for Change Maryland, said the ads would continue until the TPB reverses its decision.
鈥淲e are working to make sure Montgomery residents know that the reckless actions of politicians in their county have put this critical and popular project and every other project throughout the region at risk,鈥� Weiman said.
Critics of the MDOT鈥檚 plan have accused the agency of overstating聽聽on the state鈥檚 overall transportation program.
Edgar Gonzalez, head of the Suburban Maryland Transportation Alliance, said the unwillingness of Montgomery leaders to negotiate a compromise forced Hogan to take them on publicly.
鈥淭he soft approach hasn鈥檛 worked for them, I would imagine,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he other side has been playing hardball.鈥�
Tony Hausner, the founder of Safe Silver Spring and a project opponent, called Hogan鈥檚 ads 鈥渧ery聽disturbing.鈥�
鈥淐learly they are feeling the heat on this major boondoggle,鈥� Hausner said.
bruce@marylandmatters.org
