2/8/10

Marcus Brandon, Candidate for NC House District 60, will appear on NC Public Television Program: "Blueprint North Carolina" on Tuesday, February 9 at 10:30pm alongside former Charlotte Mayor and Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Pat McCrory , and Administrator for the NC Department of Transportation Terry R. Gibson. The program Blueprint North Carolina: Planning for the Future takes a look at the future impact of transportation planning in our state with a focus on the power of rail to provide equal access and benefit for all North Carolinians in an environmentally sustainable way. For more information about that program, please click here: http://www.unctv.org/blueprint/planning.html. 

“This discussion of public transportation goes to the heart of what we are talking about on our campaign.  When I talk to people in the district the number one concern is Jobs, transitioning our Transportation infrastructure can do two thing, create more jobs and create more access to jobs.”  Marcus who is a consultant for Transportation Equity Network has been deeply involved on a national level helping communities apply basic principles that will achieve these objectives in Transportation projects.

In addition to his appearance on UNC-TV, Marcus Brandon is releasing his transportation platform this week.  That transportation policy is available here:  www.marcusbrandon.com/transportation. 

To take his commitment to the issue of transportation equity a little further, Marcus Brandon is also sponsoring a petition to N.C. legislators with three demands: 1. At least 30% of the transportation jobs must be allocated for under represented people, 2. Ensure that citizens that need public transit have adequate access to meet their needs, and 3. and do it in an a way that maintains a commitment to sustainable and environmental integrity.   That petition is available here:  www.MarcusBrandon.com/TransportationPetition.  

 Marcus went on to point out that his opponent, Earl Jones (D-NC-60), is basing his platform upon finding revenue in video poker.  Marcus Brandon claimed that "There are many things wrong with video poker: for starters it has 0% chance of passing which makes it a false conversation, but the biggest problem with video poker is that it is bad policy that creates not one single job. We need sustainable job growth, not to prey on those with gambling addictions.  And it is a known fact that any solution in our economy that does not have jobs included in it, is not a solution at all."

Marcus Brandon believes that a “Light Rail Project would be huge for the Triad." Connecting Greensboro, High- Point and Winston-Salem is a good thing, our citizens would have access to many more jobs and combining a community that can utilize the resources of each other to enhance the regions economy.  Utilizing our infrastructure with businesses like Thomas Built Buses in High Point and giving them the tools necessary to retool their production to make rail is a commitment I am making for sustainability in the 60^th District.

"We cannot disregard the importance of the environmental impact of investing in mass transit. Knowing that it will take cars off the road, and replace them with environmental friendly rail systems and buses will do wonders for our environment.  It’s important that we have solutions that are both sustainable for us as individuals and our environment that we live in."