Friday, October 22, 2004
Politics? In D.C? You're kidding me.
Another politics article in the Washington Post
To summarize:
Opposition is not strong against the Stadium. It will pass. Yay, baseball in DC! (you can see I don't think this article is coming straight down the middle)
However I feel about the article's slant (and the paper's general pro-stadium stance), there are truths here.
The opposition is not as strong as the support - It just isn't. However it's not weak as this article would like you to believe. There are only 13 members to the council. Only 8 have committed support to the plan (as of Oct 2nd), meaning 5 do not support it. A few of these 8 wanted to see more details before voting in favor of it. And it's been noted that the three more anti-public funding members joining the council in January might have enough power to override any mayoral veto of the Council's decision. It takes 9 out of the 13 to do that, so we're talking at least 6 have to be on the fence or in opposition already.
Mayor Williams is out on a limb here - Oh god, yes. He basically told MLB to come to DC and he'll get everything sorted out for them for next year. A lack of a stadium deal would totally screw MLB, (they can't go back to Montreal then, could they?). It would also most likely rule out DC baseball for at least another 30 years. Not worth the trouble. It could even potentially put a crimp on any re-election ideas. Would you want to be known as the mayor who tried to use the public's money to help baseball AND the mayor who screwed up baseball in DC?
It will probably be passed
Oct 2nd - "Though eight council members have said they generally support the mayor's stadium package, several, including Cropp, have also cautioned that they want more details before they commit their votes. "
Oct 20th - "I do think that may be where it ends up, even though that's not where we want it to end up," said Ed Lazere, executive director of the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute and a leader of a coalition called No D.C. Taxes for Baseball. "It's an uphill battle," Lazere said of stopping the stadium. "Our chances, if we had a vote today, are pretty slim. I don't think we'd win."
What were the more details?
"The mayor has since floated the idea of finding an additional $20 million a year for schools and other pressing needs. And mayoral aides who will testify at the public hearing said this week that they hope to appease critics on the council by offering new details on how the stadium could generate money for such a fund. "
Basically he's paying off the areas in question. It probably won't stop at $20 million though. The mayor is in a tough spot with little room for negotiation. They'll ask for the moon and he'll give it to them to get this passed. I guess it's good that they get the money they need for schools and hospitals, but where's it going to come from? How does one "find" $20 million?
To summarize:
Opposition is not strong against the Stadium. It will pass. Yay, baseball in DC! (you can see I don't think this article is coming straight down the middle)
However I feel about the article's slant (and the paper's general pro-stadium stance), there are truths here.
The opposition is not as strong as the support - It just isn't. However it's not weak as this article would like you to believe. There are only 13 members to the council. Only 8 have committed support to the plan (as of Oct 2nd), meaning 5 do not support it. A few of these 8 wanted to see more details before voting in favor of it. And it's been noted that the three more anti-public funding members joining the council in January might have enough power to override any mayoral veto of the Council's decision. It takes 9 out of the 13 to do that, so we're talking at least 6 have to be on the fence or in opposition already.
Mayor Williams is out on a limb here - Oh god, yes. He basically told MLB to come to DC and he'll get everything sorted out for them for next year. A lack of a stadium deal would totally screw MLB, (they can't go back to Montreal then, could they?). It would also most likely rule out DC baseball for at least another 30 years. Not worth the trouble. It could even potentially put a crimp on any re-election ideas. Would you want to be known as the mayor who tried to use the public's money to help baseball AND the mayor who screwed up baseball in DC?
It will probably be passed
Oct 2nd - "Though eight council members have said they generally support the mayor's stadium package, several, including Cropp, have also cautioned that they want more details before they commit their votes. "
Oct 20th - "I do think that may be where it ends up, even though that's not where we want it to end up," said Ed Lazere, executive director of the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute and a leader of a coalition called No D.C. Taxes for Baseball. "It's an uphill battle," Lazere said of stopping the stadium. "Our chances, if we had a vote today, are pretty slim. I don't think we'd win."
What were the more details?
"The mayor has since floated the idea of finding an additional $20 million a year for schools and other pressing needs. And mayoral aides who will testify at the public hearing said this week that they hope to appease critics on the council by offering new details on how the stadium could generate money for such a fund. "
Basically he's paying off the areas in question. It probably won't stop at $20 million though. The mayor is in a tough spot with little room for negotiation. They'll ask for the moon and he'll give it to them to get this passed. I guess it's good that they get the money they need for schools and hospitals, but where's it going to come from? How does one "find" $20 million?
