[Mpls] Re: Dean Carlson's post on the stadium

[Eva Young]

Bruce Shoemaker writes:


>For something that has been in the works for years and years why is the 
>"delay" a referendum would cause a deal-killer?  Stadium proponents have 
>not clearly made the case for the need to rush this.  What aspect of the 
>deal will really collapse?  If State action is needed this legislative 
>session it could be done but contingent on a referendum.  I don't think 
>the Twins will abandon a deal they have been pursuing for years just by 
>having to wait a few more months for the voters to approve the deal.
>Let's be honest.  The real fear is that a referendum wouldn't pass.

Bruce is right:  with the polling numbers on this, it would be a real 
challenge to pass such a referendum.

http://www.startribune.com/stories/784/5378650.html


The poll also found that more than seven in 10 adults, statewide and in 
Hennepin County, believe county voters should be allowed to vote on a 
proposed sales tax increase for a ballpark.

Overall, less than a third of respondents statewide, 29 percent, support 
using public money for a ballpark while 67 percent oppose it.

Support perks up a bit, however, for the latest plan, under which a 0.15 
percentage point increase in the sales tax in Hennepin County would fund a 
downtown Minneapolis stadium, along with $125 million from the Twins.

Statewide, 42 percent approve, while 54 percent of adults oppose the plan, 
with 45 percent opposing it strongly. In Hennepin County, 58 percent oppose 
the plan and 36 percent support it.

The poll, conducted Tuesday through Thursday, interviewed a representative 
sample of 825 Minnesota adults and also interviewed 407 Hennepin County 
residents.

A majority of every demographic, geographic, partisan and ideological group 
opposed using public money. Despite the broad and deep opposition, team and 
county officials found reason for optimism.

"We would expect those numbers [in support] would continue to build" as the 
team tries to educate the public about the plan, Twins President Dave St. 
Peter said. "The next 25 days are arguably the most important 25 days in 
the history of the franchise, so rest assured no stone will be unturned."

Hennepin County Commissioner Mike Opat, who negotiated for the county, said 
he also expects support to increase as people learn about the plan. The 
county is expected to vote Tuesday on whether to go to the Legislature for 
authority to increase the tax to collect $28 million annually to pay for 
stadium bonds.

"I think the reaction to our plan is quite good at this stage," Opat said.

Those polled feel strongly about having a referendum. Statewide, 77 percent 
of the respondents said county voters should have a say in whether the tax 
is imposed. In the county, 71 percent favor a referendum.

The referendum issue is significant because both the Twins and Hennepin 
County say that a referendum is a deal breaker because it would delay the 
project and increase the cost.

Again, neither Opat nor St. Peter was troubled.

Opat called support for a referendum "understandable."

"People get called in the middle of dinner, and they're asked about a 
referendum. 'Sure,' they say," Opat said.

But he said referendums are complicated and expensive.

"For instance, if the question was: Should the county spend $500 million on 
social services in 2005? I doubt that would pass, but that's what we 
spent," he said.

St. Peter questioned whether light-rail transit or the Mall of America 
would have survived referendums. "Those didn't have a referendum. Which one 
of those projects do you think the state of Minnesota would like to do 
without now?" St. Peter said.

He also challenged the poll's questions, suggesting that the results to the 
question, 'Do you want to build a ballpark with no state money?' might have 
found more support for the new plan, which does not use state money. "We're 
not discouraged by this, we're also not surprised," St. Peter said.

EY:  Opat's schtick on this with Almanac and the papers is that people 
wouldn't want to vote for 2 billion dollars on sherif in the next couple 
years.  That's totally disingenuous - as commissioner Steele said, public 
safety is a core government function.  As are social services.

Later on Almanac, David Strom was very muted on the stadium issue.  He's 
mumbled something about a referendum, but that was about it.


Eva Young
Near North
Minneapolis
lloydletta at yahoo.com
http://lloydletta.blogspot.com

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