By Michael D. Shear
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, October 19, 2006; A01
A large majority of Northern Virginia residents want the state to spend more money to fix the region's roads and rails, and more than three-quarters say they wanted the opportunity to raise local taxes to do it, a new Washington Post poll shows.
Overall, the survey finds deep resentment among the region's voters toward their government in Richmond, particularly the General Assembly. Only 9 percent of likely Northern Virginia voters polled said they were "very satisfied" that the government is working for the best interests of their part of the commonwealth. Forty-eight percent of those voters said they were dissatisfied, compared with 37 percent in other parts of the state.
That result suggests that General Assembly members in Richmond are taking the brunt of the blame for the stalemate over transportation funding that consumed lawmakers for much of the year. In the poll, 55 percent of the region's likely voters blamed lawmakers, especially Republicans, for the failed special session last month. Only 11 percent blamed Kaine.
Asked for their assessment of the job General Assembly members are doing, just 42 percent of Northern Virginians gave a positive response, compared with 56 percent in other parts of the state.
The results highlight a truth about the Washington suburbs: There is desperation for a traffic fix and frustration with a state government that has not been able to deliver one.
"Every day it gets worse," said Elias Ullah, 32, an independent voter and father of two who commutes from Manassas to Alexandria. "I'd like to pay more taxes. The time you're wasting [in traffic] is more valuable than the tax money you would pay."
Northern Virginia has been struggling for years with highways that become congested daily, a Metro system that doesn't reach the largest population or work centers and aging roads and bridges that need repair. Officials and business leaders have put the price tag for fixing those problems in the tens of billions of dollars.
Four years ago, voters in Northern Virginia rejected a regional sales tax increase that would have raised $5 billion over a decade. Now, the poll suggests that people in the region might think differently if given a second chance.
Seventy-six percent of likely Northern Virginia voters said they want the opportunity to vote again on a local tax increase. And about half of those voters said they would support a general tax increase or higher fees and tolls to pay for new roads, bridges and mass transit.
"I'm not in favor of paying more taxes, but people have to be willing to raise their taxes to pay for public needs," said Karen Rosenbaum, 68, of Arlington.
Del. Timothy D. Hugo (R-Fairfax), who voted against a package of tax increases during the special session, said Northern Virginia commuters would feel differently if they knew that Republicans in the House had pushed to use the state's surplus for transportation against the wishes of others in the legislature.
"It would have been a step in the right direction," he said of the GOP plan. "When people see there is a huge surplus, their answers will be, 'Spend that money first.' "
The statewide poll of 1,004 likely voters in November's election was conducted Oct. 10-12 and has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.
Despite intense support for action in Northern Virginia, the poll suggests that people in other parts of the state feel less urgency about transportation problems.
For example, just 9 percent of the people in Lynchburg and Southside Virginia and 16 percent in Richmond said it is "extremely important" that the state spend more on roads. That compares with 40 percent of people in Northern Virginia who said the transportation needs are "extremely important."
There is a measure of hope for Northern Virginians: Two-thirds of respondents in the rest of Virginia were willing to allow regions to raise their own taxes to fund transportation.
Statewide, however, voters remain split about how to finance the needed work.
Asked how they would prefer government to pay for new transportation projects, 17 percent said higher taxes on all Virginians would be their first choice. Twenty-three percent said government should reduce spending on other services. And 32 percent said government should increase user fees, such as tolls.
Elected leaders in Northern Virginia said they are not surprised by the results, especially the expression of frustration with General Assembly members.
"They treat us like a bank," Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerald E. Connolly (D) said of the legislature. "If we have needs, they are transparently uncaring and unresponsive while they are taking billions of dollars in sales and income tax revenue. Our voters are smart. They get it. That's not a good deal."
Connolly and other elected officials in Northern Virginia have pushed for statewide tax increases that would boost transportation spending statewide. Those efforts have been blocked largely by Republicans in the House of Delegates, who say they oppose any general tax increase to pay for road improvements.
Del. Leo C. Wardrup Jr. (R-Virginia Beach), chairman of the House Transportation Committee, said members of the public are often willing to say they will support tax increases for roads until they are presented with a specific plan to do so.
"When people talk about, 'Yes, we're willing to see a rise in taxes,' the next question is, 'Who's it going to be on?' " he said. "I really question the veracity of these polls."
The House GOP has paid for its own polls, which it said show no appetite for tax increases in Northern Virginia or elsewhere.
Members of both parties in the General Assembly have promised to discuss transportation funding again when lawmakers return to Richmond in January. But most express little hope of reaching a compromise soon.
Instead, many Virginia politicians are expecting a spirited debate about who's to blame as all 140 House and Senate seats come up for election next year.
"That's what a campaign is for," Connolly said. "Between now and then, there will be a lot of effort to raise public awareness about who to hold accountable."
The Post poll suggested that both parties have a lot of work to do. In the survey, 19 percent statewide blamed House Republicans; 18 percent blamed Senate Republicans; and 15 percent blamed Democrats in the House and Senate.
Taken together, General Assembly members received the majority of the blame, but 17 percent said everyone in state government was equally to blame, and 17 percent had no opinion.
"I'm not blaming a party, but the fact is that all legislators are stubborn. So I'm blaming the legislature," Rosenbaum said Wednesday. Kaine "obviously doesn't have the persuasive powers of his predecessor, but I'm not laying the blame at his doorstep.''
Tina Miller, 77, a Democrat from Alexandria, said she blames the General Assembly for the transportation stalemate.
"They sat on it," she said. "They don't live in Northern Virginia. The governor was trying, or he said he was trying."
Aides to Kaine said they believe the governor has avoided political harm by making an effort, even if it has not been successful. Kaine spokesman Kevin Hall hinted that the governor will be an active player in the political blame game next year.
"Governor Kaine will continue to insist on smarter and better transportation reforms. The so-far-unsuccessful fight for adequate resources is not over," he said. "But let's be clear: This delay will result in higher costs and additional aggravation for Northern Virginia residents and businesses."
Polling director Jon Cohen and staff writer Eric M. Weiss contributed to this report.