8/31/2016, Wisconsin State Journal – In the Aug. 25 letter to the editor “Ripp hasn’t fought for road solution” the writer suggests Rep. Keith Ripp, R-Lodi, hasn’t been a leader on transportation. While I sympathize with the reader’s frustration, directing that frustration at Rep. Ripp is unfair.

As an advocate for sound transportation investment, I have witnessed Rep. Ripp’s actions and he has been a consistent proponent of solving our transportation funding quandary. He was a co-sponsor of legislation that gave voters the chance to amend the state constitution prohibiting lawmakers from using transportation user fees for other purposes.

In the most recent budget when transportation was one of the last issues to be resolved, Rep. Ripp held out, pressing for a solution on transportation. When a solution could not be reached, Ripp actually broke with his party and voted “no” on the entire budget because of transportation.
Ripp stated, “While I support many of the provisions included in the final budget, I cannot in good conscience vote for a plan that does not adequately address our state’s long-term transportation funding issues. These are issues that have the potential to plague Wisconsin’s commerce for decades.”
Once again, I share the letter writer’s frustration, but if we had more legislators like Rep. Ripp, we would have solved the transportation issue by now.

Craig Thompson, executive director, Transportation Development Association of Wisconsin