Urban Policy in the November Election
Four weeks from today the U.S. will make history — we will either elect the first black President or the first female Vice-President. Neither is a good reason to vote for or against one or the other. We need criteria other than race or gender on which to make our own voting decisions.
For those of us living in urban regions we must look at the Presidential & Gubernatorial election with close inspection of the candidate’s urban policy.
At the national level the respective candidates have vastly differing urban policy objectives. Obama-Biden have Urban Policy as a major issue heading. McCain-Palin’s Urban Policy is non-existent, although you might argue their policy items are scattered among other issue headings such as crime or economic development. I like seeing that Obama-Biden have given urban policy the clout it deserves.
At the Missouri state level we have Democrats Jay Nixon for Governor and Sam Page for Lt Gov with Republicans Kenny Holshof for Gov and incumbent Peter Kinder for Lt Gov. For me their plan for say urban transit is more important than debating the 2nd Amendment and Abortion. You can view the sites and make your own determination.
I’ve been voting now for 20 years. In that time I don’t think I’ve ever voted a straight party ticket. In each election I might like a few Democrats and a few Republicans. Not this year. I’m voting to keep Palin in Alaska. Someone get her a White House tour book — because that is as close as she should ever get to the oval office.
Voters in St Louis County get a say in the future of transit in our region. Metro is seeking much needed funding to keep buses & trains serving thousands throughout our region. Proposition M reads as:
Shall the County of St. Louis impose, in addition to an existing County-wide sales tax of one-quarter of one percent for the same purpose, a County-wide sales tax of one-half of one percent (0.50%) which shall have a sunset date twenty years from the date on which the tax is first imposed, for the purpose of providing a source of funds for public transportation purposes, with the revenues from one-quarter of one percent (0.25%) to be used for MetroLink expansion and revenues from the remaining one-quarter of one percent (0.25%) to be used for the maintenance of existing transit facilities?
- Increase frequency on express routes and arterial routes nearing capacity.
- Implement high-speed bus service between major residential and employment centers.
- Develop express bus corridors into Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lines.
- Expand MetroLink to North and West St. Louis County
I’d vote for it if I could. If I’m not mistaken city voters previously approved a tax to fund Metro that will kick in when County voters approve Prop M. For more information see the Greater St Louis Transit Alliance at www.MoreMetroLink.com. Alliance Treasurer Thomas Shrout (of Citizens of Modern Transit) will participate in a panel discussion tonight called Obstacles, Solutions and a Vision for the Future of St Louis. The panel starts at 7pm, just after a reception – both at Cummels on Washington Ave. For more information click here.
I agree with your positions, Steve. Metro definitely needs more funding. Despite their recent missteps, the bottom line is still the bottom line. Here, taxpayers in Missouri pay a ¼% sales tax to support transit. In other areas, like Dallas and Denver, consumers pay a full 1% sales tax dedicated to transit. Prop. M is a step in the right direction. I hope it passes, but given what I’ve seen elsewhere, it looks like a really uphill battle.
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The Palin early years are documented in this Boston Globe article:
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/10/12/anti_zoning_key_to_palins_early_record/
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And while I’m no fan of party-line voting, in a two-party system, the party in the majority has an extraodinary amount of power, so, unfortunately, when it comes to actually getting something done, party does trump person.
Steve, your argument is eloquent. You and I have come to the same conclusion but my argument is simpler– ‘Obama is a City guy’ and ‘we’ve never had a City guy in the White House before.’ Ever. Think about it–we’ve never had a guy who was involved at an intimate level with people who lived in a large City. Even if he’s dead wrong on any number of urban issues, his familiarity will make him better for cities than any president in our history.
Oh, and he’ll get us out of Iraq and end the government’s new habit of spying on its citizens and a bunch of pesky little things like that.
He’s a City guy–my guy. So glad you’re on board!
As far as I can tell, this ‘City Guy’ experience has done nothing but line his own pockets. He’d fit in well here.
I also point out Joe Biden’s recent quote while on an Amtrak train. “If elected we’ll be the most transit friendly administration in history”. I’ll take it.
This blog is one of the last places I can go and hear discussion of issues from a fairly non-partisan view; I hope that doesn’t change.
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Anyway, I hope whoever wins will invest in infrastructure. I’m not sure what the above comments about “city person†mean but I hope the next administration sees the need to invest more in our rail network.
“and ‘we’ve never had a City guy in the White House before.’ Ever. Think about it–we’ve never had a guy who was involved at an intimate level with people who lived in a large City.”
Sorry to break it to you, but Teddy Roosevelt was born & raised in New York City. It wasn’t until the death of his wife and his mother that he went out into the west (presumably to kill himself) and came back re-invented as the zealous police chief of NYC, and the cowboy/”Rough Rider” that everyone remembers him as.
I’ve even heard that the Bruce Wayne/Batman character was even inspired by him!
Yes the City sales tax will go up a like amount resulting in a cumulative tax of roughly 10%. A figger I find staggering. I can recall when it was 3 cents on the dollar. What are the voters thinking I’ll never understand.
All sales taxes should be sunseted and revoted upon every 5 years.
Regards Palin. Was it her wink that made you nervous?
All major cities need a more urban policy-friendly government, and we really, really need a CHANGE.
I thought about going down to the panel, but decided against it – it seemed a lot like the normal suspects preaching to the choir. It would’ve been a lot more effective if it were held somewhere in Chesterfield instead of the heart of downtown. we city people aren’t voting on Prop. M – it “those people” in the county that need to be convinced!
People thought that Clinton would help cities. He copied China’s Special Economic Zones. He didn’t increase transfer payments while he destroyed AFDC.
While Obama does hail from Hyde Park, it would be ignorant to assume that cities will receive what they deserve.
In terms of representation, cities are outnumbered in both State and Federal legislatures. Suburban and rural actors outnumber urbanists and their elected officials. Obama might deliver on some, but we can’t expect a drastic change without grassroots activism and continued alarms. Essentially if things get better or stay the same for cities socioeconomically, then we won’t see drastic change especially absent local, grassroots movements.
Indeed.
http://www.moremetrolink.com has just updated its web site offering more information about Proposition M for the upcoming November 4th election. Be sure to check it out…
And remember to get out and Vote!!!
Yeah! Vote! Vote out the scourge!