A GOP General Assembly candidate in Democrat-heavy Arlington County is challenging a controversial streetcar project, even as Gov. Terry McAuliffe tries to sweeten the deal with $65 million in new state funding.
“I will introduce legislation to give voters a right to say whether they want (the streetcars) or not,” said David Foster, who is running to fill the House of Delegates seat vacated by Bob Brink.
Without a referendum, Arlingtonians dissed the project this year by electing independent John Vihstadt to the county board on an anti-streetcar platform. Still, a Democrat majority controls the purse strings.
“If the facts were on the board’s side, they wouldn’t need to be spending $500 million on public relations,” Foster told Watchdog.org.
“The voters are saying streetcars are not practical or affordable,” said the attorney who has served on the Arlington and state boards of education.