I guess for Larry, the best thing to do is under promise and over achieve. What if they came out and said $120 million will get us four miles of streetcar. Then, when it comes back that we get 5-6 with that same amount of money, everybody's happy? No, people will be saying, "I am not going to vote yes for $30 million/mile when the average is $20 million/mile! Why can't we get six miles of streetcar?" They went with the information provided to them with the research they did.
I knew for a fact that there was going to have to be a phase 2 of the convention center when San Antonio just approved $325 million for an expansion of 684,000 sq ft.
I knew $250 million wasn't going to get us a brand new perfect convention center. There were rumblings that $50 million or so was going to have to be used as incentive to built a CC Hotel.
Maybe I knew about this because I am very active on this board and read the business section of the Oklahoman, Tulsa World and the Gazette every day.
I guess I am in the crowd where the ends justify the means. If we had to double the cost of the original MAPS to get what we did (which, if you are not aware is an NBA team, world class rowing events, a vibrant downtown and city overall, top of the line horse shows, a revamped civic center, the canal and the top AAA baseball stadium in the country) then SO BE IT! I would be willing to do more than just give $0.01 in sales tax for every dollar spent in this city to keep us doing what we are doing.
nm
I was only responding to the previous statement that it was an endorsement, that's why I put the word endorse in quotes. Perhaps I should have began with, "If that were the case...". I saw it as an article in a newspaper, nothing else.
I was only responding to the previous statement that it was an endorsement, that's why I put the word endorse in quotes. Perhaps I should have began with, "If that were the case...". I saw it as an article in a newspaper, nothing else.
Sorry for the duplicate post above.
Young sir, perhaps, though also somewhat irrelevant.
I did not indicate if changing the property tax structure is a grand thought or an Alexander thought. Merely that it can only happen with the Legislature being on board.
Again, pitch the idea to your local rep. and senator that the property tax should be fair game for play by cities and towns. Then report back.
Perhaps there are many who would make this a cornerstone of their 2014 reelection campaigns. Not the bet I would lay down, but to each their own chips.
Or he's been listening to the same broken record for the last 15 years...
I get wanting the projects to be voted on separately, but the overpromised and underdelivered, failed to deliver on time thing? Give me a freaking break. Go downtown and take a look around for a little while. The ends justify the means. The Devon Tower didn't turn out exactly as it was proposed, it is 4 floors shorter. Does that mean it's some type of failure? MAPS 1 and likely MAPS 3 when all is said and done could have been executed better, but I am far more than happy with how MAPS 1 ended up and I'm sure I won't feel that much differently about 3. Most massive city or state projects are not going to turn out how they are originally proposed. I'd much rather dream big and have to scale back a little then never shoot for it at all. You can always add on to projects in the future.
In a completely surprising move, the FOP has endorsed Ed Shadid for Mayor of OKC...
Fraternal Order Of Police To Back OKC Mayor's Challenger - News9.com - Oklahoma City, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports |
Still stinging from losing the MAPS III vote...
And PT Barnum rolls over, smiles and gives another little wink
Make it one. While I agree with him on most issues and MAPS 3 being unconstitutional, he lost my vote for Mayor. For many of the "flip-flops" that others have detailed, but also for breaking the most basic promise to his constituents, that he will serve his entire term. If he is elected Mayor, there is still 1 year to go on his Council seat.
Oh the irony…LOL
Did they change their mind & push it back? Granted the link below essentially says they won't do another bond election before 2017….
City of Oklahoma City | 2007 Bond Issue Proposal
How often are bond issue elections held?
Oklahoma City last held bond issue elections in 1989, 1995 and 2000, so they've been spaced roughly five or six years apart. Since this is a 10-year bond issue, the next bond election won't be until 2017.
warreng88: that would be better than what they do now is over promise and under achieve.
BoulderSooner & Sid: I went back and watched the video and I stand corrected, it was one way to do it (the "best way" comment was in there somewhere but not precisely on that point)...Page 24 of this thread, post #582) benign at the 52:30 mark:
Taken in their entirety, Mr. Shadid's conclusions are correct. (Not that I am going to vote for him for Mayor).Shadid asks the Municipal Counselor Kenneth D. Jordan, if the projects could have been mentioned (to prevent the Council from diverting money from one purpose to another), on the Ballot (like they were in MAPS 1 as a all-or-nothing). The answer was that you could have but would have had to have come up with a single subject where you could unite all of those various projects which would probably not be possible to do…that you would need multiple propositions.
Does the Single Subject rule apply to cities? Mr. Jordan agreed and also agreed that logrolling wasn't allowed. You can't make the voter's choose between unpopular and popular projects in hopes to get the unpopular ones to pass. He was having trouble putting it into worse but said a good example is you couldn't put the Convention Center and Senior Centers into the same proposition. Might have been able to put the Wellness Centers and the Park under a Parks & Recreation proposition.
Apparently quoting Mr. Jordan again…
Taxation can not be the single subject of the ordinance because it is too broad…it appears impossible to include a mandate for all of the MAPS 3 projects in one limited purpose or special purpose ordinance…can't combine the Fairgrounds improvements with the Recreation Centers because it would leave the voter with the "unpalatable all-or-nothing choice" … we can't be too ambitious and try to unite too many items in case the Supreme Court decides to disagree how we tried to unite them into a single ordinance and proposition.
So then there was a choice, once the City came down to the 8 projects, to list them separately or put the 8 projects together, Shadid asks if there was anything that prevented the City from listing the projects as separate propositions. The answer was no, that it was a policy decision. Shadid went on to say that the City misled voters by saying they had to put everything into one all-or-nothing ballot (that they "must" do it that way). That the City tried to circumvent the body of laws and the State Supreme Court.
Show me where Maps III is unequivocally unconstitutional and I'll concede the point. Again, you're reaching your seemingly concrete conclusion, so I'll again ask you what sort of legal expertise do you have which allows you to reach this conclusion? I've given you the law and applied it to these facts. For the Court to say this is unconstitutional would be another ratchet past where we're at now. Right now, did the bill have a single subject? Yes. Money for capital improvements for OKC. Is it being spent on anything but that? Nope. Can it be? Nope. It has to be spent on capital improvements. Did the voters have a clear choice as to whether they wanted capital improvements? You betcha--much to the chagrin of police/fire who want to raise your taxes to hire more public safety workers without addressing the issue of sales tax revenue to begin with--which MAPS III does and will be responsible for huge growth in sales and ad valorem revenues.
If you feel misled, you were living under a rock and didn't read the ballot. The question as to whether this money could be diverted from the 8 projects has been thoroughly discussed in the public sphere.The only way the voters could be misled is if they didn't understand what capital improvement means.Taken in their entirety, Mr. Shadid's conclusions are correct. (Not that I am going to vote for him for Mayor).
I'm not certain the OKC mayoral race for 2014 and M3 will ever become separate discussions until the votes are counted, and possibly several months beyond.
Not saying it ought to be that way. Just it seems headed that direction.
That headline is a bit misleading and grammatically a bit iffy.
I really don't know why this guy keeps reffering to the Hunt election as relevant data. There isn't really any relevant comparative data except for the MAPS 3 election. And even that could be considered as something of a stretch.
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