X-Citement: Union Boss and Streetsblog Columnist Fight Congestion Pricing War in Public
Boys, get a (chat) room.
Streetsblog columnist and congestion pricing supporter Charles Komanoff and transit workers union boss (and toll supporter-turned-opponent) John Samuelsen waged a war of words on Twitter late last night over Komanoff’s recent column decrying Samuelsen’s “head-scratching” abandonment of the central business district toll plan.
It all started when the notoriously anti-congestion pricing account of Liza Smith replied to our tweet about Komanoff’s story with poll numbers that accurately showed that congestion pricing is not popular with voters. Now, get some popcorn and watch the show:
Round 1: Samuelsen pounced, claiming outer-borough residents were betrayed by the MTA’s failure to massively increase service in advance of congestion pricing, but Komanoff was ready:
In round two, Samuelsen started his attack on the MTA for not adding more service in advance of congestion pricing, but Komanoff put the onus on the unions:
In round three, Samuelsen continued to claim that he withdrew his support from congestion pricing because he felt betrayed that the MTA did not massively increase service as, he claimed, it promised. Again, Komanoff was ready with a retort:
In round four, Samuelsen continued to peddle what Komanoff considers inferior goods:
Round five: No, Samuelsen isn’t owning it. In fact, he’s still going strong in this heavyweight battle. But so is Komanoff:
And that’s when the bell sounded (at least for now). Our judges’ cards have Komanoff the winner in a unanimous decision with no knockdowns, but plenty of aggressive counter-punching. Samuelsen is still standing and, we imagine, ready to fight another day.
Rematch anyone?
UPDATE: These two couldn’t keep their gloves off each other! After initial publication of these threads, Samuelsen came storming across the ring for another blow, which, Komanoff, again, counter-punched:
