Could L.A.’s Transit Plan Become a Winning Campaign Issue for Boxer?

President Obama did triple duty last night for the re-election
campaign of Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), visiting
three fundraisers to send a stark message about polls that show the
environment committee chair holding a single-digit
lead against her GOP challengers despite a formidable cash
advantage.

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), at left,
with the president last night. (Photo: AP/CBS)

In
remarks from one appearance that were released by the White House,
Obama touted Boxer’s “work to pursue a clean energy future” by helping
to craft a climate
change bill in the upper chamber — albeit one that was effectively
supplanted by a non-cap-and-trade
measure crafted by three other senators.

“California has been a leader in promoting hybrids and cleaner
burning
fuels,” Obama told the crowd, “and appropriately, you have in Barbara
Boxer a subcompact
senator with a seemingly inexhaustible supply of energy.”

But that energy may not be enough to propel Boxer to victory
without a tangible win to tout for recession-weary Californians, as
E&E News reported this morning. From its subscription-only writeup
of the Obama-Boxer fundraising swing:

Shaun Bowler, a professor at University of California,
Riverside, said
Boxer has three factors to blame for the uphill fight: an
anti-incumbent mood throughout the country; Attorney General Jerry
Brown’s (D) lackluster campaign for governor; and Obama’s sagging
approval ratings. …

To Bowler, Boxer needs to show evidence of a major victory before
the
fall, but he is unconvinced that a climate bill would resonate with
voters.

Cue Antonio Villaraigosa?

The Los Angeles mayor has
credited Boxer with bringing federal funding and momentum to L.A.’s
transit system, and his push for expediting more than a dozen new
projects under the “30/10” umbrella has
given Boxer a new opening for transportation policymaking as the
fate of a long-term federal infrastructure bill remains
uncertain at best.

Even Republican lawmakers such as Rep. John Mica (FL), the senior
minority member of the House transport panel, have indicated their
willingness to work out a federal financing package for L.A. transit,
perhaps through a combination of loans and grants. If Boxer can help
hammer out that 30/10 deal despite the mired state of Congress’ six-year
infrastructure measure, she would have a job-creating achievement to
tout on the trail this fall.

Much depends on the state of negotiations over a new long-term
infrastructure bill. Democratic leaders have
promised Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH) a vote on the legislation
before year’s end, and Boxer has indicated she plans to release her
version of the bill in the coming weeks. Would the task of taking up a
transportation bill months
ahead of the White House’s preferred timetable slow down Boxer’s
progress on L.A. transit funding? Stay tuned …