The Purple Line transit link between New Carrollton and Bethesda has been the subject of quite a few shenanigans lately. Last Friday, The Washington Post ran an editorial arguing that now that plans for the Intercounty Connector are finalized, the Purple Line must be the next priority. The following Thursday, we questioned just how committed to the Purple Line Maryland and the Ehrlich administration really are. However, neither piece offered quite as much insight into the situation (or unintentional hilarity) as these two articles in the Sunday Post's Close to Home section.

Responding to the Post's original editorial, Maryland transportation secretary Robert Flanagan writes to show that he and Governor Ehrlich are all Purple Line, all the time:

The Post's July 7 editorial "Going Purple" rested on the assertion that the Bi-County Transitway project...is stalled due to a lack of political will and local opposition... But the facts demonstrate Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s strong commitment not only to building this project but also to solving many associated community impact issues... The project has advanced on schedule in anticipation of a draft environmental impact statement next spring...

However, unbeknownst to Secretary Flanagan, a recently dismissed Metro Board member from Maryland, Robert J. Smith, was penning a letter of his own. Smith, who was fired by Ehrlich for anti-gay comments at a public forum, had this to say, printed right beside Flanagan's piece:

Now that he has released me of my free-speech restraints, I can offer my thoughts about The Post's July 7 editorial regarding the proposed Purple Line. The Ehrlich administration has been stringing this project out for all it's worth. It is leading a prolonged attempt to obfuscate, alter, study and delay the project so as not to face up to the fact that, without a tax increase, the project is underfunded. All money available is going to the Intercounty Connector and, indeed, even future federal money has been bonded for that project.

Now, it would be easy to dismiss Smith's claims as a simple case of retribution by a disgruntled ex-employee. However, as we pointed out last week, considering the lengths to which Flanagan and the Ehrlich administration have gone to show us all how very, excruciatingly, difficult it is to build the Purple Line, we're tempted to give Smith the benefit of the doubt here. Besides, if he was really out for some sort of revenge, wouldn't he have just ordered a few dozen pizzas to the governor's mansion?

Photo by techne. (Good to meet you this weekend!)