On the front page of today's Strib there was this
headline: "LIGHT RAIL TAX DISTRICT ELICITS SHARP
RESPONSE, Minneapolis leaders call plan unfair."
In the body of the text under a sub-heading entititled
'Anti-Minneapolis', the article read "Reaction from
officials in Minneapolis was swift. "It looks like an
anti-Minneapolis thing at face value", said City
Council member Lisa McDonald, who is a mayoral
candidate. "This is the kind of shenanigan that
happens at the last minute over there."
I beg to disagree with the Council member from the
tenth ward. On the face of it, what I see is a lack on
the part of the city of Minneapolis to protect our
interests.
Furthermore, do you think the Strib and every other
media outlet in town could find anyone else to offer a
few words? I'm not sure whether it is Lisa's machine
at work or the media manufacturing a contest but
either way I find it tiresome.
In a news report the day report on a local TV station,
it was reported that MOA and Northwest were excluded
from the tax because they lobbied against inclusion.
Where was the City of Minneapolis?
This is not an anti-Minneapolis measure and anyone who
purports as much using whatever qualifying phrases
such as "on the face of it" is just pandering to
nativist sentiments of city residents.
Anyone who has followed the Hiawatha LRT line and the
controversy surrounding it from its inception knows
that Carol Molnau, Phil Krinkie, et al in the IR party
have put every roadblock they can in the way of its
progress.
The only reason it could be seen as being an
anti-Minneapolis measure is that it is Minneapolis
officials as much as any elected officials who have
championed this foolish and wasteful plan.
Nary a politician I have spoken to privately about the
LRT line has thought it was the best option. That
includes two DFLers in the State Senate who voted in
favor of it, a U.S. Senate candidate, a Henn. County
Commissioner, etc. Most of them have said things like
"we needed to start somewhere" or "I think it is a
step toward where we want to be in 10-20 years."
Hardly ringing endorsements for what will likely be a
$750m to $1billion project.
This tax provision will most likely be stripped in a
conference committee but the operating shortfall will
still exist and one way or another taxpayers will foot
the bill.
And please, the contention that any added tax in the
Hiawatha corridor will necessitate city subsidies for
development as though without it the city will not be
handing out money hand over fist, one way or another,
whether that be with infrastructure improvements or
discounted land prices on property that was condemned
years ago and has been off the property rolls for all
that time, is laughable.
Tim Connolly
Ward 7
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