05/05/06

Wright Amendment and Love Field

Laura Miller addressed the first meeting of the Dallas Division of the HBA this week.  During the question and answering period, she was asked about the Wright Amendment.  In typical politician fashion, she tap-danced on both sides of the issue to appease both sides.

On the one hand, Wright needs to go away so airfares will go down, need that competition.  On the other hand, nothing should be done that might hurt DFW airport.  She wants the 32 gates at Love reduced, and a slow phase out of the Wright Amendment over many years. She is totally opposed to the Congress of the United States doing away with the Amendment with a vote.

To me, letting DFW and the city of Dallas choose the fate of Love Field regarding the Wright Amendment is like letting the southern states decide how to settle the civil rights issues of the 1960?s.  The federal government had to step in and enforce the law.

The Love Field Citizens Action Committee, recently traveled to Washington D.C. to lobby on  behalf of Love Field impacted neighborhoods.  They lobbied the Senate to keep the Wright Amendment in place.  It?s okay for them to believe, correctly in my opinion, that Congress has the last word, not Dallas and Ft. Worth local representatives. Grassroots organizations in favor of the repeal have been criticized for stating this issue should be decided by Congress.

A quote from Nov. 25, 2005 Love Field Citizens Action Committee literature, ?On your behalf, the Love Field Citizens Action Committee is actively working on many fronts to protect and advocate for the interests of close to 100,000 people who reside in more than 50 neighborhoods impacted by Love Field.?

I?ve lived in the area for fourteen years.  I?m a member of the Bachman NW Hwy Community Assoc., I?m the chairman of the Midway Hollow Community and I?ve never been contacted by these people to ask my opinion. They took it upon themselves to represent me, and my neighbors without even consulting us regarding our opinion on the issue.

So, I did get involved with www.righttofly.com, and Friends of Love Field.  Two true grassroots organizations in favor of repealing the Wright Amendment. The Love Field Citizens Action Committee website is: www.lfcac.org.

Recently, LFCAC got an earful from a neighborhood organization next door to Love Field. By far and away the neighbors were quite upset that they are being represented by an organization that has never asked them for their support, or even asked for their opinion on the issue.

So, I encourage all the people in those 50 neighborhoods impacted by Love Field to make sure your political representatives know YOUR opinion, be it for or against the Wright Amendment.