Dreier seen as go-to guy in fight for transit dollars.

When the Metropolitan Transportation Authority voted to divert $21 million in scarce funds from two San Gabriel Valley rail projects to its East L.A. rail line, it was assumed that work on the projects would be delayed, scaled back or even killed.

But backers of both projects have turned to the man they hope will be an ace-in-the-hole: Rep. David Dreier, R-San Dimas, a top-ranking Republican who chairs the House Rules Committee and recently served as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaign co-chair.

Both the $1.3 billion, 24-mile Gold Line extension from Pasadena to Montclair and the $910 million Alameda Corridor East rail grade separation project slice fight through the heart of Dreier's district, and he is moving on several fronts to get them back on track.

That includes stepping up his efforts to secure federal monies, advising Schwarzenegger in key transportation appointments, and putting congressional pressure on the MTA to rescind its funding diversion.

Last month, Dreier met with MTA board member and L.A. City Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa to convince him to change his mind about the funding diversion. "These projects are absolutely vital, not only to the San Gabriel Valley but to the entire Southern California region," Dreier said.

Villaraigosa said his talk with Dreier resulted in a "'meeting of the minds" on the issue. "We agreed that we shouldn't look at this as a zero-sum game that pits one project against another, but as an opportunity to support more projects in the region," he said.

Without the funds, work on one of the biggest grade separation components of the Alameda Corridor East project will be stalled indefinitely, while planning for the Gold Line Extension could be pushed back several years.

Eastside shut out

So far, $4 million in federal funds have been earmarked this fiscal year for the Gold Line extension and $3 million for work on the Alameda Corridor East project now under way. Those funds are in the current-year budget proposal that has passed the House and is to be taken up by the Senate.

Meanwhile, $55 million in federal funds that the Bush administration had set aside in its 2003-04 budget proposal for the Eastside project--an $890 million, seven-mile light rail line from Union Station through Boyle Heights--was taken out of the budget in conference committee. Backers of the Eastside project say that Dreier didn't do enough to prevent funding from being slashed.

"The Eastside project has been waiting in the wings for 15 years and the MTA has declared that it's now its top priority," said Gerry Hertzberg, legislative deputy to Supervisor Gloria Molina, who is also an MTA board member. "That's why we needed the full support of the (Southern California) congressional delegation on this. A half-finished project is not good for the transit network as a whole and for getting money for future projects."

Privately, some backers say this was a motivating factor in the decision by MTA board members Villaraigosa and Molina to introduce motions diverting funds from the two San Gabriel Valley rail projects to the Eastside line.

Dreier disputes the notion that he hasn't fully supported the Eastside rail project.

"Some have argued that what I'm doing in support of the Alameda Corridor East project and the Gold Line extension is at the expense of anything else. Nothing could be farther from the truth," Dreier said. "I've been the lead Republican supporting the Eastside rail project and I showed Antonio the letters I've signed to prove it."

Late last month, L.A. County Supervisor Mike Antonovich, who represents most of the San Gabriel Valley, said he had been told that Villaraigosa might introduce a motion to the MTA board this month that would rescind the funding diversion.

Villaraigosa himself said he was considering "options that would provide initial funding for the Eastside extension while at the same time restoring monies for the Alameda Corridor East and the Pasadena Gold Line Extension." As of last week, he said no formal motion was ready to be introduced.

Washington push

Dreier is also pushing to pry more funds out of Congress as part of its periodic reauthorization of an omnibus transit bill known as TEA 21. The legislation, which was supposed to pass Congress earlier this year, got hung up in partisan wrangling. To keep funds flowing, Congress passed a five-month extension of the existing funding levels: that extension expires on Feb. 29.

Dreier said he was working with Rep. Gary Miller, R-Brea, to secure more funding for all three projects. Miller is the only California Republican on the House Transportation Committee, which must authorize any further federal appropriations for the projects.

Dreier said he would have a better idea of how much funding he could obtain later this month.

Dreier is also using his ties to Schwarzenegger to make his case to preserve funding for the San Gabriel Valley rail projects. "He knows how important these projects are," Dreier said. "He's been out here in the area and I've made sure he knows about our transportation needs."

Schwarzenegger paid a publicized visit to Dreier's district a couple of weeks after he won the Oct. 7 recall election to meet with President Bush.

Also, the governor is expected to make two appointments early this year to the California Transportation Commission to replace two term-limited appointees of former Gov. Gray Davis. In response to the state's fiscal crisis. the CTC voted last month to scrap funding for hundreds of projects throughout the state, including $57 million for the Alameda Corridor East project.

"I'm expecting that Congressman Dreier will have strong input in this appointment process," Antonovich said.

Gold Line end run

Gold Line extension advocates in a dozen San Gabriel Valley cities have made two moves of their own in recent months to boost chances for securing state or federal funding.

Earlier this year, they formed a separate joint-powers authority, hoping to emulate the success of the first phase of the Gold Line from downtown L.A. to Pasadena. That line was stalled amid MTA funding cutbacks in the mid1990s until a separate authority was formed that pried money loose from Sacramento.

Gold Line extension backers have 'also moved the terminus of the line from Claremont two miles to the east into Montclair. While the move is ostensibly for practical reasons (there is a Metrolink, bus station and huge parking lot at the Montclair site), it had a political benefit as well. Montclair is in San Bernardino County, which brings to the table a host of its own supporters.

"We felt it would be a missed opportunity from a regional point of view not to include this stop," said Norm King, executive director of San Bernardino Associated Governments.

Alisa Do, legislative assistant to Dreier, said that adding San Bernardino County voices to those from L.A. County in support of both projects will enhance their chances on Capitol Hill.

"It's going to make our case stronger," Do said. "The federal government likes projects that demonstrate strong local support from across a region."

With work already under way for two years on the Alameda Corridor East project, the biggest impact of the MTA's $11 million funding diversion will be immediate: postponement of the awarding of a construction contract for one of two major grade separation projects.

"We're hoping that our congressional delegation will be successful in persuading the MTA to change its mind." said ACE Construction Authority chief executive Rich Richmond. "If we don't get the funds, that means we won't be able to do as many grade separation projects as we planned."