Stand up for Cincinnati, say "NO ON 9!"

To the Voters and Citizens of Cincinnati:

The time has come. This is the final stretch. Both sides of the debate continue to preach their message. For the voting citizens of Cincinnati, Issue 9, if passed, would amend the city's charter so that a public vote would be required for any money that would be spent on passenger rail transportation regardless of funding sources. That means, even if the city of Cincinnati wanted to research the construction or feasibility of any form of passenger rail, we would have to wait a year or have a tax payer funded special election just to vote any time a single cent was spent on anything involving passenger rail transportation, regardless of where the money comes from whether it be local, state or federal dollars. This process severely hinders and slows down the political process and is meant to discourage our elected officials from researching any new methods of transportation that could help this region grow.No other major metropolitan city has legislation such as this. Typically votes are held on passenger rail issues when taxes are being raised to pay for them, in the case of the proposed Cincinnati Streetcar, your taxes are not being raised!

The charter amendment severely hinders the power of our elected officials to do their job and is meant to indirectly discourage our local government from seeking to improve our transportation options. If passed, the amendment could keep Cincinnati out of consideration for federal stimulus dollars to build it's streetcar line (making an even greater cost to the city), out of consideration for the 3C corridor connecting Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati and out of consideration for the proposed high speed rail network being pushed by the federal government. Charter amendments like this one are deceptive and dangerous, even if you're against the streetcar, say NO to Issue 9 to keep special interest groups like suburban based COAST from dictating our transit options and our transit future.

Are You Registered to Vote?

Regardless of where you stand on the issue, it's your job as a citizen to get educated about the issue and represent yourself by voting. UC Students, the streetcar would link uptown and downtown, providing a new, reliable, higher capacity transportation option for yourself and future students alike. Recently, the University of Cincinnati Student Government Association declared their support of the "No on 9" campaign. If you are a UC student currently living in Cincinnati, you have a say in the election. Here's how to make sure you're registered to vote:

To confirm if you're registered to vote in Hamilton County, click here:

http://www.hamilton-co.org/BOE/votersearchs.asp

To register to vote in Hamilton County, follow the instructions here:

http://www.hamilton-co.org/boe/howtoreg.asp

Are You Unsure of Where You Stand on Issue 9 or the Streetcar?

While the charter amendment proposed on Issue 9 affects any and all kind of passenger rail construction, development, research and planning, the construction of a proposed modern streetcar line is at the forefront of the issue. There are many websites, such as this one, making their case for or against the streetcar. Political rhetoric is thrown around quite a bit. If you're interested in learning more about the exact details of the the streetcar plan, your city officials are holding open houses on the following dates:

5-7 p.m. Sept. 22 at the Aronoff Center for the Arts, 650 Walnut St., Downtown.

6-8 p.m. Sept. 24 at the Bond Hill Recreation Center, 1501 Elizabeth Place.

11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 28 on Fountain Square, Downtown.

5-7 p.m. Sept. 29 at the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, 800 Vine St., Downtown.

6-8 p.m. Oct. 13 at the Oakley Recreation Center, 3882 Paxton Ave. (in Hyde Park Plaza)

6:30-8:30 p.m. Oct. 20 at the College Hill Recreation Center, 5545 Belmont Ave.

6-8 p.m. Oct. 27 at the Corryville Recreation Center, 2823 Eden Ave.

6-8 p.m. Nov. 4 at the LeBlond Recreation Center, 2335 Riverside Drive, East End.

5-7 p.m. Nov. 10 at Cincinnati City Hall, Room 115, 801 Plum St., Downtown.

630-8:30 p.m. Nov. 18 at the Price Hill Recreation Center, 959 Hawthorne Ave.

As said before, even if you're against the streetcar proposal, Issue 9 is about much more than that. It severely restricts our city government from doing the things they're elected to do. It will hinder Cincinnati out of consideration for state and national projects while the rest of the country moves ahead. The amendment is deceptive and dangerous to our city's future. It is unprecedented and no other major city has any kind of similar, ridiculous legislation. Don't keep Cincinnati "20 years behind the times," vote NO on Issue 9!

To all those visiting Oktoberfest this weekend, have a safe and wonderful visit downtown, remember:

Stand up for Cincinnati! Vote 'nein' on Issue Nine!

(Cartoon by Nicholas Sweeny)

Enquirer: Amendment is about 'less,' not 'more.'

Even if you're NOT a streetcar supporter, here's why you should oppose the COAST/NAACP backed passenger rail charter amendment!

Posted in the editorial section of our hometown newspaper, the Cincinnati Enquirer, is an honest writing about the dangers of the proposed COAST/NAACP backed passenger rail charter amendment. The editorial outlines that not only would the amendment most likely kill the streetcar project, but would keep Cincinnati out of consideration from other passenger rail projects that are being moved forward with by the federal and state governments to connect other major cities. Here's a little excerpt:

"A "Yes" vote on the Charter amendment effectively means "No" on the streetcar, but its faux-populist "let the people vote" cachet might draw support from people who otherwise might favor a streetcar. A "No" on the amendment, on the other hand, doesn't necessarily translate into streetcar support."

Now the Cincinnati Enquirer, who has traditionally not been a fan of the streetcar, is opposed to the dangerous and deceptive charter amendment proposed by special interest group COAST and their lawyer leader Chris Finney. Read the full editorial here and see the truth for yourself: 'Poison Pill' Amendment is About 'Less,' not 'More.'

Additionally, the Cincinnati Business Courier believes that from an economic and business standpoint, the Cincinnati Streetcar is: "Exactly the game changer Cincinnati needs."

Portland Voted on Passenger Rail Transportation

Why aren't we?

In a recent post to their blog, COAST tries to make it seem like they're all the sudden "pro streetcar" and really just about "demanding a vote." However, just read a few posts below on their site and and you can see their true feelings and their immature anti-streetcar propaganda campaign (complete with pictures of a scantily clad Xenia Warrior Princess using a sword to kill a streetcar). 

It's true, the citizens and taxpayers of Portland, Oregon voted on the construction and subsequent expansion of their rail transit systems. Why? Because those projects required the raising of additional taxes. Will the construction of a Cincinnati Streetcar system require the raising of your taxes or will you even be taxed for it's construction? NO! If it was going to require a raise in taxes, the motion to construct such a system would be put forth the voters. The streetcar system will be paid for by capital funds (these funds can not be reallocated into the general budget to make up for the city's current deficit), private donations and federal stimulus dollars (if passed up, these dollars will go to other city's, not back to the citizens of Cincinnati). That's why this issue is not being placed on the ballot, because your tax dollars are not being touched to fund it.

COAST wants to claim that their charter amendment wouldn't "block" transit, it would "enable" it. Nothing could be further from the truth! The generally worded anti-passenger rail amendment would require any rail project in the city limits to be voted on in a taxpayer funded city election. That means, any project that would come forward would be delayed for months while a vote at taxpayer's expense was organized.

COAST had a vote, it was called "election day." Since they didn't like the outcome, they feel they can nitpick and chose what issues that want to vote on and amend. They don't care what the citizens want, they don't care about how democracy works, they only want to pass measures that benefit their special interest group! Say no to special interest, say no to the anti-passenger rail amendment!

Thank you to everyone who has written in with emails of support! We, the citizens of Cincinnati stand firmly against COAST's antiquated, stupid thinking!

Mallory: "Yes" Vote Would Kill Streetcar

COAST/NAACP continue to mislead the voters!

The folks over at COAST like to throw around the word "boondoggle" a quite a bit. They claim the proposed streetcar route, if built, would be a "boondoggle" to the taxpayers despite the fact that our taxes would not be raised, nor would our tax dollars be used to pay for it's construction (the construction of the system would come from already collected capital funds and private contributions). 

In their most recent post, COAST claims the citizens have suffered through three major "boondoggles" already: 

 - A "Union Terminal Boondoggle."  

COAST unfortunately failed to look into this one and realize that Union Terminal was built privately, costing taxpayers nothing. Today, after it had been abandoned and the taxpayers voted to save the building in 1986, it exists as the Cincinnati Museum Center, one of the most popular and highly attended tourist attractions in the region.

- A "Subway" Boondoggle

Voters in 1916 approved a six million dollar bond issue to approve the construction of a Rapid Transit Loop around our great city. We can go round and round about the politics and reasons for it's abandonment, but if the current COAST/NAACP anti-passenger rail amendment passes on election day, it would prevent the subway from ever being used for it's original purpose. 

- A "Riverfront Transit Center" Boondoggle

Opened in 2002, the Riverfront Transit Center, lays beneath 2nd street currently run by System Parking who has a contract with the city. COAST considers the transit center to be a boondoggle because of it's underutilization, however their very own charter amendment would help keep the transit center from ever being utilized for it's fully intended purpose. 

As Mayor Mark Mallory said on July 28, the proposed charter amendment would end "all talk about rail" in this city. Not only would a "yes" vote kill the streetcar, but it would work to prevent Cincinnati from ever having rail as an alternative to fix it's traffic problems, but keep Cincinnati out of the proposed high speed rail network and 3C corridor, which would connect our city with other major cities! 

Do you really think the federal government when planning this project is going to sit back and say "well we'd like to include Cincinnati, but we have to put off planning for another year while they vote on it?" No, they won't even bother asking the question, they'll just pass us over or let some other nearby city take our opportunity. Don't let Cincinnati miss out on a great opportunity to make progress and become a competitive major American city yet again!

Kill the Charter Amendment!

Vote 'No' on the anti-passenger rail charter amendment.