Principles Until They're Inconvenient

There is something deeply troubling about watching politicians abandon their own principles the moment it becomes politically useful.

Monroe Mayor Robert Burns has been attacking Councilwoman Surluta Anthony over her vote on the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization (CRTPO) to withdraw support for the I-77 South toll lane project.

His argument? She acted alone without consulting the Monroe City Council.

Let's be honest. That's political theater.

Was Monroe City Council consulted? Perhaps not. But this wasn't a Monroe project.

This was a regional transportation project centered in Mecklenburg County, affecting Charlotte and its surrounding communities. Councilwoman Anthony voted alongside a supermajority of regional representatives, many of whom were carrying out the wishes of their own municipalities and counties. This wasn't a rogue vote by a single elected official. It was a broad regional consensus. Full story here.

But instead of discussing the merits of the project, the mayor immediately launched into fearmongering.

His first claim was that Monroe was somehow costing itself millions in state funding.

That was false.

Now the goalposts have moved.

A state senator is proposing legislation that would force communities that opposed the project to repay the state for money already spent. Full story here.

And somehow we're supposed to believe Monroe citizens should cheer this on?

Since when did conservatives start celebrating the state government punishing local communities for disagreeing with it?

Since when did "small government" become "do what Raleigh tells you or we'll send you the bill"?

The hypocrisy is impossible to ignore.

We're constantly told that the local government knows best. That decision should be made closest to the people. That taxpayers deserve a voice.

Until local leaders exercise that voice.

Then suddenly the state government should swoop in, override local decisions, and financially punish communities into submission.

That isn't conservatism.

That's coercion.

Even more baffling is why Monroe's mayor appears more interested in attacking Monroe's representative than defending Monroe's citizens from a dangerous precedent.

Today it's Charlotte and Mecklenburg County.

Tomorrow it could be Monroe.

If state lawmakers can punish local governments every time they reverse course on a project, then local representation becomes meaningless. The next time our council votes against a high density development, will the city financially punish us while ordering us to allow the project to go through anyway?

And let's not forget the dollars involved.

The I-77 South project wasn't cheap. The proposal carried a price tag in the billions, with hundreds of millions of state taxpayer dollars already committed toward the effort. Supporters can argue about whether the project was worthwhile, but pretending there is no financial upside to avoiding massive spending commitments is disingenuous at best.

You can't simultaneously claim to be a fiscal conservative while condemning efforts that could save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

At some point, we have to ask: What exactly are the principles here?

Are we for local control?

Are we for fiscal responsibility?

Are we for limited government?

Or are those just slogans that get dusted off during election season and discarded when political allies need protection?

Because this increasingly looks less like a policy disagreement and more like political gamesmanship.

Instead of standing up to a state senator who is threatening to punish local communities, the mayor is manufacturing outrage around Councilwoman Anthony.

Instead of defending Monroe from a dangerous expansion of state power, he's creating a fake scandal.

Instead of uniting behind a common principle, he's choosing sides to protect political allies.

Monroe deserves better than performative outrage.

We deserve leaders who apply their principles consistently, even when it's inconvenient.

And we certainly deserve leaders who will stand up to Raleigh when it attempts to bully local communities into submission.

If you're a conservative, oppose wasteful spending.

If you're a believer in local government, defend local decision-making.

If you're a leader, protect your citizens before you protect your political friends.

Those shouldn't be controversial statements.

Yet here we are.