The coalition opposed to the streetcar includes the Cincinnati NAACP, the Green Party of Ohio, the Cincinnati Tea Party, the Fraternal Order of Police, the Cincinnati Firefighters, the CODE labor union, the Baptist Ministers of the Cincinnati Vicinity, the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition, and Westwood Concern.
Without the charter amendment, the Council of a thoroughly insolvent City has indicated its intention of proceeding to construct a 6-mile loop of a trolley system at an initial capital cost of $143 million, which amount is sure to rise as construction is underway. The system will cost more than $10 million per year to operate, and upon taking the federal grants the City commits to operate the system for 40 years.
City Council already has approved the issuance of $64 million in debt to fund its portion of the construction (before cost overruns).
A copy of the petition is here. The instructions are here. You may print a petition on a color printer and start collecting now! Or, you may get a printed petition from the NAACP at 4439 Reading Rd Suite 3 or by calling (513) 281-1900.
Please help this important effort.
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ReplyDeleteI love how its supposedly all about the voters having a say, yet when you asked them if they wanted a say on individual rail projects - they told you no by voting down Issue 9. Now, you've ignored that and your Anderson Township lawyer and ex-councilman nut job had to come up with something else?
ReplyDeleteIt's not about the voters having a say, its about a special interest group getting their say. You've completely ignored the voters. They spoke clearly on Issue 9.
Issue 9, as your side pointed out 10,000 times during that debate, covered all passenger rail, not just the streetcar.
ReplyDeleteThis amendment affects the streetcar only. The voters have never had a chance for a straight up-or-down vote on the streetcar alone. Now they will, and they'll be free to support or oppose it.
You're right, and as your side pointed out 10,000 times (and on your signs) it was to "STOP THE STREETCAR." I'll point out again, it didn't. What it did do was ask the electorate if they wanted to put an amendment to the city charter saying that any expenditure for any type of passenger had to be voted on individually. They voted that down by a wide margin, i.e. saying they didn't want to vote on each individual project.
ReplyDeleteIt's pathetic that now after the streetcar project has started this group has resorted to trying to stop it with a goofy amendment again, after being shut down at the polls the first time.
Stopping the streetcar, won't in any concrete way stop police or fire layoffs. As Mark Miller would say, that's just "sand in the voters eyes."
But as YOUR side said Gordo, it wasn't about the streetcar. It was about high speed rail, and the choo choo train and the Zoo, and if I recall correctly your sides signs said nothing about the streetcar. It was "For Cincy Jobs" remember?
ReplyDeleteHypocrite...
Hey COASTers we are going to stop your charter amendment from ever reaching a vote. People are too stupid to decide this issue for themselves. We are leading the fight to stop the right to vote!
ReplyDeletehttp://republicans4highertaxes.blogspot.com/2011/01/streetcar-opponents-try-to-derail.html