Will Hwy. 40 case help Haas’ political hopes?
Ah, what could have been.
Had Bill Haas somehow succeeded in thwarting the Highway 40 shutdown, his place in the pantheon of beloved St. Louisans would have fallen somewhere between Eero Saarinen and Stan Musial.
That the case was argued in front of Rush Limbaugh’s uncle might have been good for some bonus street cred among fellow Democrats.
Instead, Haas’ populist pitch managed only to provide a fleeting hope to commuters dreading next week’s traffic crunch.
Though Haas may get high marks for effort - he spent the holiday weekend composing a 28-page motion - Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh found the former School Board member’s case fatally flawed.
Technically, Haas named the wrong defendant - the state Department of Transportation instead of the Highways and Transportation Commission.
âOn this point alone, the court could dismiss this cause,” Limbaugh wrote in a footnote.
Though Limbaugh’s ruling is packed with opaque case law - my sympathies to the law clerk who, on top of the usual dicta, had to research the history of the Highway 40 reconstruction project - the case was thrown out on two key points:
- Haas failed to offer any alternative solution to fixing the aging highway.
- Haas did not show personal harm beyond âairing general grievances shared by a large contingency of affected commuters.”
Even so, the case might help Haas’ political aspirations - now focused on Todd Akin’s Congressional seat.
Haas can rightly claim that he fought the highway shutdown - red meat for West County voters, who would be less familiar with Haas’ serial attempts at public office. (Mayor, alderman and circuit attorney, to name a few.)
Limbaugh’s ruling does not touch on Haas’ political fortunes, but it does wax optimistically about the region’s response to the highway shutdown.
His honor opined:
The Court fervently believes that the citizens of Missouri, especially the St. Louis metro area commuters directly affected by the I-64 Project, will meet the challenges presented by such a highway construction project of this magnitude with the usual stoic resolve that Missourians are known to possess. Whatever difficulties these closures may bring, the St. Louis community will face and overcome with patience and fortitude.
In other news:
-
Curious what tests Rudy Giuliani got at Barnes-Jewish Hospital?
-
Gov. Matt Blunt names new directors of the revenue and labor departments.
-
Bookmark it: St. Louis fares well on another city rankings list.
-
Claire McCaskill is still unhappy about Mizzou not playing in the Orange Bowl.
Script for Akin campaign commercial:
Wife: Here goes that Bill Haas again. Now he’s running against our congressman, Todd Akin.
Husband: Didn’t he run for office in the city?
Wife: He ran three times. Never won, though. And he doesn’t even live in our district.
Husband: That’s just wrong.
Wife: What’s even worse is, he tried to stop the highway 40 improvement by suing the state, just a week before construction.
Husband: Holding up our new highway? What would Bill Haas do about traffic?
Wife: The judge said Bill Haas had no alternatives. And what is worse, he sued the wrong agency. What a loser.
Husband: We sure don’t need somebody like Bill Haas for our next congressman.
You greatly overstate Haas’ significance when you wrote: Had Bill Haas somehow succeeded in thwarting the Highway 40 shutdown, his place in the pantheon of beloved St. Louisans would have fallen somewhere between Eero Saarinen and Stan Musial.
The only thing he proved he was interested in is his own political gain. Had this truly been an issue for him, both he and the retired engineer would have mounted their campaign back was the project was in the planning stages. Then and only then he would have garnered support. To do this as he did is nothing more than a (pitiable) cry for media attention. Further, his presentation of his case certainly did not impress me in preparation or delivery. I concur with Limbaugh. We’ll survive.
“Had Bill Haas somehow succeeded in thwarting the Highway 40 shutdown, his place in the pantheon of beloved St. Louisans would have fallen somewhere between Eero Saarinen and Stan Musial.”
No way is Haas a great St. Louisan. That guy is pathetic. He’ll probably update his blog with his latest attempt at suicide over depression from losing the Highway 40 traffic case. He doesn’t represent this “stoic and resolute” Missourian.
“Will Hwy. 40 case help Haas’ political hopes?”
You’re kidding, right? I’m in Akin’s district. I disagree with Akin on nearly everything. Can’t believe we keep electing him. But if the choice is between Haas and Akin, Akin gets my vote.
John2
Once again Bill Haas has shown what a complete moron he is - educated or not. I am not a lawyer and even I know one has to proof damages in a lawsuit. What he should have done is waited a month or so and then prooved the damages to citizens and businesses caused by the closing. Now he has wasted the money that could have been used for that.
Centrist, what would be the point of that? Nobody wins - that means you and me - when lawyers get involved. That’s money down the drain.
#4: There will be a libertarian candidate on the November 2008 ballot. Always a handy alternative when you have a lousy contest like the last one (Akin vs. “Boots” Weber).
Haas responds, you’d expect any less? Several points. Possibly two emails worth.
First, I cant tell you how much the bloggers’ show of support for me means to me; I’m undeserving, and intend to stay that way.
Second, it would appear that the Akin buttboy brigade is in full panicked crouch afraid that I might prove a worthy and challenging opponent, which I hope to.
Third for the pendantic and erudite among us, my media response to Judge Limbaugh’s decision, in its entirety:
Reaction and response to Judge Limbaugh’s decision I dont have standing cause I havent shown specific harm-
I couldnt quantify the specific harm from a delay in commuting because modot didnt do the studies
I couldnt quantify the specific harm from the pollution from the traffic jams because modot didnt do the studies
I could quantify the specific harm of increased danger on I-44 because modot didnt do the studies, and
I couldnt quantify the specific economic harm to my area of the city, including me, because modot didnt do the studies they should have;
So I wont say that if that’s all the judge has, he has nothing, because that would be disrespectful,
but I will say that seems to me pretty thin;
plus, as I read the law, and I did for two days:
you dont have to show harm for the 4 grounds I based my case on:
-constitutional violation of Sec 29, shutting a highway only for welfare or safety reasons, not cost
-violation of EPA for no hearings after changed the plan to total shutdown from some lanes open
-violation of EPA for not revising discussing environmental impacts from changing plan to total shutdown
-abuse of discretion for making a major decision solely on the basis of cost.
So I dont agree with the decision on those legal grounds, but have always acknowledged that it would be a hard decision to make, and that it would be easier to make the safer decision.
Still confident I gave the judge the legal and factual grounds to decide for me (the people, really) if he was so inclined.
I like to think that the judge wanted to give it to me (us) but just couldnt pull the trigger.
I did what I could. And if it turns out badly, the judge will have to deal with his conscience, so I’m not going to judge him.
He let me make my case, and that will always mean a lot to me.
My prediction: the community will find a way to stop the shutdown by the second year, if not before.
I like to think my efforts will have played a role in that by encouraging others to stand up to Goliath. It’s always good to stand up to bullies, especially governmental bullies.
My thank you’s to the media for their excellent coverage of this important issue.
And it’s not about me, tho I would like to win elective office again to make a contribution from that forum. It’s about the community.
It doesnt matter who does it as long as it gets done.
And it’s amazing what can be accomplished when you dont care who gets the credit.
If I do well, it’s God’s work.
And if I mess up, it’s on me.
And if I have gifts to make a contribution, they’re god’s gifts, and mine to squander if I dont use them well.
Sounds like a fair deal to me. Wouldnt have it any other way.
BH
Fourth, I talked to Rep. Akin about the Hwy 64/40 issue tonight, and he seems to care, which is more than I can say about some of the other politicians of both parties in the area; no names thank you. It was a polite and warm conversation on the issues. I asked for his help with one last hail mary at this late stage and he said he’d consider it and we’d keep in touch. I will be talking about that on the Dr. Eric? Tobler show tomorrow morning, saturday, at 705, on 97.1. I was honored by the conversation. I think he liked me too. He complimented me on standing up. I expect it to be a respectful campaign.
As for suing MODOT instead of Highway Commission, a technical error the judge said in court that I could easily refile to fix. If that’s the only thing in the case I got wrong, and I believe it is, that’s not much.
Finally, I dont expect that commercial tho it is clever, but if Akin wants to pay for it to remind people I’m running, and that I stood up on the highway 40 issue, I’d be glad to risk a positive fallout from it, and to at “I’m Bill Haas and I approved this commercial” at the end.
Randy Tobler, but of course.
Bill, I do appreciate how you always try to keep it on the sunny side … but let’s look at reality:
1. I’m not sure Akin has a buttboy brigade, but I can assure you that neither his campaign advisers nor those who support him are even slightly concerned. The good folks of the two major political parties have carved up the districts so that it would be nearly as hard for a Democrat to win the 2nd as it would for a Republican to win the 1st.
2. Without commenting on the overall merit of your filing, I will side with you on one issue: The judge could issue a restraining order to prevent likely and imminent damage, without requiring that you quantify that damage in advance. This is precisely what the courts do when they issue a restraining order in a domestic violence situation - they don’t know if the restrained party is going to slap the petitioner, hit him with a baseball bat, or run over him with a car, but they are concerned enough about the potential that they order restraint.
3. You may like to think that the judge wanted to give it to you, but there is certainly nothing in either the tone or the content of his ruling that would encourage that thinking.
4. The community will not find a way to stop the shutdown by the second year, because the community does not want to hinder the reconstruction project. I disagree with your assessment that leaving one lane open would be helpful - I think it would have given people a false sense of security, and discouraged people from diligently seeking alternatives. If you’ve ever been on a highway when an accident resulted in lane blockage, you know that leaving one lane open is worth less than nothing.
5. Of course Akin cares, many of his constituents travel on 40. That doesn’t mean he wants to block this project days before it begins.
Bill, I’m a fan of urban living, and ultimately, I couldn’t care less if they ever build another road. In fact, I think that additional highway capacity merely makes it easier to live farther away from the population center, and as a result, has many bad side effects. But if I were you, I’d have been pushing the “no build” option five years ago, not filing a lawsuit today.