Blog Stage 7: Almost done, just like Lehmberg's career!

If you haven't heard, getting arrested for DWI while being involved in public office is the latest rage. 2 years ago, Capitol staffer Gabrielle Nestande struck Courtney Griffin with her car, killing Griffin. While unable to prove Nestande was intoxicated at the time, civil statues dictate a preponderance of the evidence and the evidence preponders Nestande to have been drunk. Who hits a 250lb human with their car and doesn't shit their pants at the moment of impact? I should know Griffin was 250lbs. I pronounced her dead. State Representative Naomi Gonzalez was arrested in mid March of this year with a BAC of 0.167, twice the legal limit. And now, Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg was arrested for drunk driving.

Nestande ultimately received 180 days in jail and a 10 years probation. I feel that is exceedingly leinient for killing someone, be it manslaughter or otherwise. Gonzalez and Lehmberg have yet to be sentenced but both have acknowledged their guilt. Lehmberg has stated publicly that she will accept any punishment. Good for her.

However, Lehmberg also states she will not step down as Travis County DA. Lehmberg has worked for the DA since 1976, over 35 years. She no doubt has seen more than her fair share of felony DWI cases. I am also giving her the benefit of the doubt in assuming she is a pillar of the community and involved in several good causes, but I could be wrong. I have more imporant shit in my life than researching Lehmberg's PR record.

Here is my heartburn: Lehmberg, as an elected official, has betrayed the public's trust as a representative for abiding by the law. She clearly violated the law the public entrusted her to uphold. I understand she made a mistake. I cannot judge; I would most certainly be a hypocrit if I did pass judgment. However, I am old enough and smart enough to realize that 100 $100 cab rides is still cheaper than a DWI, plus I won't kill anyone.

Lehmberg might have to step down if Kerry O'Brien has his way. O'Brien is an administrative judge for the Texas Workforce Commision and former attorney general. O'Brien has filed a petition to remove Lehmberg under a little known and vague law about attorneys being intoxicated on or off duty. We shall see if O'Brien's measure works.

If Lehmberg would have hit or killed anyone else, would we even be having this conversation? Maybe not if we consider Nestande. The citizens of Austin are awful leinient on drunk drivers if you are politically connected. I appreciate Lehmberg admitting her guilt and apologizing. However, I find it unprofessional that she acted the way she did whilst in jail, name dropping Sheriff Greg Hamilton and winding up in a spit hood and the chill-the-fuck-out chair. Lastly, I find it pompous that she does not feel the need to resign from a position of public service she swore to uphold, then promptly putting the public she swore to protect in danger.

I am a public servant. If I did the same thing, I would be promptly fired. The reason would be conduct unbecoming of a public servant. End of story. Similarly, I think Ms. Lehmberg's story will be coming to an end soon. I seriously doubt she will be re-elected back to office.

Stage 6: Commentary on Peer's Post

Come and Take It's post "Dazzled by Promise of Rail, Austin Leaders Still Need to Persuade Public" from Feb 6th is the author's personal feelings mixed with some objective observations in response to a Texas WatchDog report on the running punchline that Austin MetroRail is. CTI's initial statement of the rail being "wildly ineffective" is absolutely agreeable from my perspective; I in fact have not had the joy of riding the rail as I live no where near its service area. CTI's observation of Leander residents who work downtown town are the ideal riders is pretty accurate, however a more concise statement would be anyone who lives, works, or habitates along the rail and uses the complimenting bus service would be the ideal riders. Sadly, this is still a very small number of riders.

CTI states one original intent of MetroRail was to help relieve congestion along IH35. Most folks I know would agree MetroRail has not helped this one billionth of a percent, give or take a few millionths. I further believe Austin taxpayers have not embraced or accepted any demonstrated need for light rail.

While I agree whole-heartedly with CTI on the first two paragraphs, I disagree that Austin has been well-meaning in its rail adventure. I do think that it is too early to tell if it will be Rail or Fail and I feel that Austin under-invested in the Rail expedition. One single line between Leander and downtown Austin with a few stops is wildly ineffective, logistically speaking. I feel an inclusion of more lines is necessary to tip the speculation from a "maybe this will work" to "this will be an investment for our transportation crises for the next one hundred years". I cite lines from Lakeway into downtown, service to F1 track (that area is going to explode with growth and the roads will not be able to manage the volume), and any other lines to enable other riders to embrace and use the system. If you follow this link, here is a future rendering of other lines. I hope these become reality. Texasbytrain.org is another website further expanding upon trainsportation.

I appreciate the attempt by Austin, however it is falling short. One commuter rail that serves a narrow segment is astronomically ludacris, financially speaking. With the continuing sprawl both with our city and the Dallas/Ft. Worth/Austin/San Antonio, I feel that if we are going to invest in rail, we need to go big. We should be taking our cues from the TVR in Spain and Japan's Bullet. Consider the impact that would have on IH35 traffic, especially with Red River weekend and holidays. One single line is MetroFail.