NAACP, ACLU Files Complaint Over Decision To Nix Red Line

BALTIMORE (AP) -- The NAACP and ACLU of Maryland have filed a complaint with the U.S. Transportation Department over Gov. Larry Hogan's decision not to move forward with a light rail project in Baltimore.

Sherrilyn Ifill, president of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said Monday the lack of rapid transit in the city is a civil rights issue, because it restricts low- and middle-income black residents in the city from access to jobs.

Doug Mayer, a spokesman for Hogan, says the complaint has "absolutely zero credibility or legal standing." Mayer noted the Republican governor's plan to revamp the city's transit system. Mayer also noted the governor's support for increasing state aid to local governments for roads. Mayer says the Red Line plan in Baltimore was poorly designed and simply unaffordable.