Speaker 1: Six point twenty one here on this Wednesday night of
Speaker 1: breaking with Brett Jensen here on Charlie's News Talk one
Speaker 1: is seven point nine FM. Okay, So by seventy seven Totlanes,
Speaker 1: I explained some things to you, and I am really
Speaker 1: really interested to hear what this person has to say
Speaker 1: about all of this and the fact that the NCDOT
Speaker 1: has offered basically a three hundred million dollar bribe or
Speaker 1: is paying a three hundred million dollar ransom, whichever way
Speaker 1: you want to look at it. So joining us now
Speaker 1: here I'm breaking with Bret Jensen is North Kinnta State
Speaker 1: Senator Vicky Sawyer. First of all, thank you for joining
Speaker 1: us tonight. And second of all, is NCDOT just came
Speaker 1: out and said, look, if you let us build our
Speaker 1: Tolane expansion on I seventy seven between caroen Wan's Boulevard
Speaker 1: and uptown, we'll give that whole community three hundred million
Speaker 1: dollars and you can build parks and grocery stores and whatever.
Speaker 1: So when you first heard about all of that, what
Speaker 1: was your initial reaction?
Speaker 2: Concern? Complete concern, Because I know that the pressure is
Speaker 2: on to get this project done or underway, and I
Speaker 2: completely feel for those in charge who are just trying
Speaker 2: to get that to happen. But what president are we
Speaker 2: setting for other communities across the stage. Are they now
Speaker 2: going to be able to hold the got in a
Speaker 2: state hostage for personal or gain through redevelopment of property.
Speaker 2: I mean, that is just really setting a horrible precedent
Speaker 2: for very precious resources that we don't quite frankly have
Speaker 2: enough to build the roads that we already have promised
Speaker 2: to build across North Carolina.
Speaker 1: Speak with North counta state Senator Vicky Sawyer, who has
Speaker 1: parts of Mecklenberg County and Irondale County in her district.
Speaker 1: So do you think the NCDOT maybe did this on
Speaker 1: their own, or that there was outside influence from groups
Speaker 1: or individuals, or do you think Josh Stein had something
Speaker 1: to do.
Speaker 2: With this great question? I think probably all of the above.
Speaker 2: To be honest. There are the lobbyist class who has
Speaker 2: been working very hard to get this project done. They're
Speaker 2: in dot in the governor's office. I mean, this is again,
Speaker 2: Charlotte is our biggest economic driver in North Carolina and
Speaker 2: this is a much needed project, so it has got
Speaker 2: a lot of attention. So I could imagine all of
Speaker 2: the above probably had influence on this decision.
Speaker 1: North Conina State Senator Vicki Sawyer joins us here on
Speaker 1: breaking with Brad Jensen. So let's say the community actually
Speaker 1: accepts this offer of three hundred million dollars. I'll call
Speaker 1: it a bribe. They call it an offer, but I'll
Speaker 1: call it a bribe. How do you think this will
Speaker 1: actually come across if they actually accept this offer.
Speaker 2: It's kind of sad that a person or a grouse
Speaker 2: morality is for sale. And I guess now they have
Speaker 2: put the price on their morality. And I don't know
Speaker 2: that that's a good look for them, because now it's
Speaker 2: going to undercut their value, say some and their virtue
Speaker 2: signaling that they are really there to help folks that
Speaker 2: have been disadvantaged in the past, but they'll help them
Speaker 2: until they get paid. That's a really bad look.
Speaker 1: Speak with North Kinda State Senator Vicki Sawyer. I don't
Speaker 1: know if you know this off the top of your head,
Speaker 1: but do you know how many requests are put in
Speaker 1: for road repair or road expansion, either from a dollar
Speaker 1: figure side or whatever, from across the state. Do you
Speaker 1: have any idea about that?
Speaker 2: A little bit. The DT came out and there are
Speaker 2: one hundred and forty four billion dollars worth of requests
Speaker 2: for new road construction across North Carolina in the next
Speaker 2: ten years. Now, we have a state budget of around
Speaker 2: eight to nine billion dollars annually, so you can see
Speaker 2: that we do not have enough money in transportation to
Speaker 2: honor the commitments that we already have on the books,
Speaker 2: much less expanding current commitments by three hundred million dollars.
Speaker 1: I don't know if this is true or not, so
Speaker 1: maybe you can clear something up for me. I've been
Speaker 1: told for a long long time that if they pull
Speaker 1: out of the I seventy seven expansion and it does
Speaker 1: not go through, that the next time that they want
Speaker 1: to do the expansion, they actually go back to the
Speaker 1: bottom of the list that you are just describing and
Speaker 1: they have to start from square one and wait their turn.
Speaker 1: Is that true?
Speaker 2: It can be accurate? Now again, this ten year construction
Speaker 2: plan that we call the Step that Governor McCrory helped
Speaker 2: shephard during his time in office, is a fluid document.
Speaker 2: So that means every two years, the DOT selects the
Speaker 2: committee and that committee sets standards for those projects to
Speaker 2: be considered. So I can say for now that is accurate,
Speaker 2: but you never know two years for now what that
Speaker 2: those standards could have been changed at that time. So
Speaker 2: it is a fluid document. So for now it goes
Speaker 2: to the back of the Arne Growth.
Speaker 1: Gone and State Senator VICKI soy here, I'm breaking with
Speaker 1: Brad Jensen. So is there anything that you want to
Speaker 1: talk about that I didn't ask you about? Is there
Speaker 1: anything going on up in Raleigh right now? Is there
Speaker 1: anything happening that you want to discuss that I didn't mention?
Speaker 2: Well, I'm on the road back now from Raleigh, but
Speaker 2: the answer is no, there's all there's always some things
Speaker 2: going on in Raleigh and but there's nothing currently that
Speaker 2: I can report on North.
Speaker 1: Kina State Senator Vicky Sawyer. Is there anything you'd like
Speaker 1: to say to the listeners and your constituents and the
Speaker 1: people of Mecklinborog County right now?
Speaker 2: No, just want to thank you for listening to the
Speaker 2: Brett Jenson Show. You do an amazing job with contacting
Speaker 2: and really working with electives and to get the answer
Speaker 2: to the people, and I enjoy being a listener.
Speaker 1: Well, that was clearly unexpected and now I feel like
Speaker 1: I have to send you flowers or something.
Speaker 2: Honestly, it came to nine because I had someone who
Speaker 2: listened to our interview about the seventy seven tolls and
Speaker 2: he complimented and said he listened to the show and
Speaker 2: that was made a lot of sense after we listened.
Speaker 2: So I am very grateful for that.
Speaker 1: Well, I really really do appreciate the kind words. That's
Speaker 1: really nice of you. So North Coulnta State Senator Vicky Sawyer,
Speaker 1: thank you for joining us tonight. I really mean it.
Speaker 2: Thank you, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1: All right, there she goes North Kountin State Senator Vicky
Speaker 1: Sawyer and again her districts are Idoll County and then
Speaker 1: the northern part of Mecklemberg County, which is Cornelius and
Speaker 1: Davidson talking about the I seventy seven tollans selling your
Speaker 1: morals exactly what I talked about last segment. And I
Speaker 1: didn't think about this when she said, it's like a
Speaker 1: light bulb went off. Oh, well, now you're given the
Speaker 1: blueprints for every town across all over North Carolina to
Speaker 1: try and ransom or trying to get more money, negotiate
Speaker 1: to get more money, how to hold the NCDOT hostage,
Speaker 1: because if they're doing it for Charlotte, if you're in
Speaker 1: Rocky Mount, or you're in Blowing Rock, or you're in
Speaker 1: Brunswick wherever, Brunswick County, it does not matter. Now anywhere
Speaker 1: can say no, no, no, we want more money. You gave
Speaker 1: it to Charlotte, why not give it to us. Are
Speaker 1: you playing favorites, dude, based on race? You playing favorites
Speaker 1: based on location? Like, now, that's what's happening. That's what's happening.
Speaker 1: So again, we'll see if that community sells their black
Speaker 1: heritage or not. Because it's seventy five million dollars, they
Speaker 1: were steadfast against it. Three hundred million dollars. We'll see
Speaker 1: what happens in a couple of grocery stores, a park,
Speaker 1: We'll see what happens