Mark Snyder wrote: <I believe any referendum taking place would need to be for all of Hennepin <county, correct?
<Are there any county-wide elections scheduled for Hennepin in 2005? I don't <believe so and if not, then the earliest a county-wide referendum could take <place is 2006, unless an election were held simply for a referendum, which I <don't think is possible. Hi Mark! Well, Minneapolis and I assume many other municipalities in the county will be having an election on November 2nd. Why couldn't a county-side referendum be held that day? There would be some cost for holding the referendum, especially in parts of the county where nothing else is on the ballot, but it would be a tiny amount compared to the cost of the proposed public subsidy for the stadium that would be voted on. Is it State law that requires a local referendum only be held at the time there is a general election? I don't know the answer to that. But even if it is State law, supporters of public subsidies are advocating for suspending the section of State law that requires a referendum for a local sales tax increase. It would seem, if an adjustment in State law is required, that a stadium bill could just as easily address that issue and provide for a referendum to take place this November 2nd throughout the area to be taxed (Henn. County). <So given that a referendum would delay things by at least a year, which <would almost assuredly increase the cost of the project, one can reasonably <see how it kind of makes sense why the county and the Twins would seek to <suspend that requirement without resorting to cynicism about how the <participants only seek to avoid a referendum because it wouldn't get the <votes. I don't think it is cynical to wonder why a referendum is being avoided when you have Mike Opat coming right out and admitting that it is unlikely that someone who supports the stadium public subsidy could be elected to the county board to replace Peter McLaughlin if he is elected mayor and steps down. That is basically conceeding that they are pushing something that does not have the support of those to be taxed for this subsidy. One other question I had regarding the Pioneer Press article yesterday is how would Peter McLaughlin be replaced if he wins on November 2 and a vacancy is then created on the County Board. Does that require a special election? When? Bruce Shoemaker Holland neighborhood REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
