So now a group of folks has organized to put an anti-transit propsal on the November ballot.

Just imagine the nightmares that creates around pro-transit circles at City Hall.

The mere fact that such a referendum is being considered, combined with Council waffling, might be enough to cause the people who control federal transit money to begin looking elsewhere. That’s the political reality of the situation.

In addition, it is always easier to vote “no” specifically than “yes” generally. Supporters of the referendum would march out all the familiar arguments: It won’t do much for traffic congestion, it will create an environmental eyesore, it will be expensive and taxpayers will have to pay through the nose for it whether they ride or not, etc. etc.

The other side will have to argue a more general theme that the time will come when we have to have fixed-rail transit, so it is better to begin building now rather than later.  They will also have to convince residents around the Island who would not have direct access to the system that they should support it anyway.

Yes, it will be an uphill battle to get the issue on the ballot. But it will be equally tough to defeat it. Nevermind the fact that this idea has received the green light  from elected representatives from Washington to the Legislature to the City Council, there is a nice “pure democracy” argument to be made.

If this idea goes forward, look for an ugly, very expensive and divisive campaign that will overshadow regular election politics this fall.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 21st, 2008 at 11:00 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.