Kimberlin Brown Pelzer, a person who was on a soap opera and is now running for congress in an area that she totally lives in, has made repealing California’s gas tax the centerpiece of her campaign – even though there really is nothing that a United States Congressperson can do about an individual state’s gas tax. That, I suppose, is a post for another day. Today, via the Desert Sun, let’s check in on why Brown Pelzer is so worked up about the gas tax.

Brown Pelzer drifted back and forth between talking about the state gas tax repeal effort and her own bid for Congress. In her remarks on the gas tax, she highlighted the impact tax increases had on her campaign staff, who have to travel from Rancho Mirage and La Quinta to her office in Cathedral City.

“It affects my employees. Most people that work don’t live in the areas they work. I can tell you what my employees go through – it’s heart-wrenching,” she said.

Folks who live in the Coachella Valley, much like how Brown Pelzer totally lives in the Coachella Valley, will all tell you: that 5 minute commute from Rancho Mirage to Cathedral City is extremely “heart-wrenching”.

Meanwhile, Brown Pelzer’s opponent, Congressman Raul Ruiz, supports the gas tax.

“Thanks to the Road Repair and Accountability Act (S.B. 1), we are already seeing progress on infrastructure projects that benefit our communities — like improvements to Interstate 10 and local city streets. Repealing this infrastructure investment would end these projects. My question for Kimberlin Brown is: why do you support ending these important improvements to our community?” Ruiz exclaimed in a statement to The Desert Sun.

And Ruiz should be concerned about the roads as his terrible car is just one pothole away from being totaled.

In all seriousness, paying an extra 12 cents a gallon sucks a bit, but it seems like more people and the business community are coming around to the fact that California has some terrible roads and traffic problems to fix and the money has to come from somewhere.