Peters Wants Referendum for Harrison Square
http://www.wane.com/Global/story.asp?S=6375670
From the article:
"Peters is asking members of the Indiana General Assembly to enact legislation that would allow Fort Wayne residents to vote on the Harrison Square issue in the November general election. Peters has said in the past he is in favor of Harrison Square, a downtown development project that includes a multi-use stadium, a hotel, retail shops and condos. His main rival in the May primary, Matt Kelty is an opponent of the project."
Monday, April 16, 2007
Referendum Looming ?
Posted by brian spaulding at 4/16/2007 01:35:00 PM
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25 comments:
He's in favor of Harrison Square but wants to wait until November to have a referendum? That's just plain stupid. Is this legislation going to be specific to Harrison Square, or will we have a referendum for everything?
I oppose the baseball stadium because the terms of the deal are a giveaway to Hardball capital. I'm appalled by the City's reluctance to provide details about the project. But a referendum next fall? Dumb.
Mark Garvin
I can't imagine Hardball waiting that long. And again, if they walk, FW is toast!
Sam T. What do you think of this idea?
I am very disappointed in Nelson's proposal. I think it is a horrible idea. We have referendums every May and November (they are called elections) and you can vote for or against candidates based on their decision making over the course of their respective terms. Think of how much less this community might have if we had put every single individual decision to a referendum.
Peters and Kelty are both apparently now "antis", but there is no comparison in the two candidates. Peters is in a different league than Kelty who is simply not ready to lead a city the size of Fort Wayne. So, I will certainly still support Peters in the primary.
Sam T.
I think that the poll shook Peters up a bit.
He is now trying to find political cover.
I am disappointed with this announcement from Peters. Along with his vote for the remonstrance challenging the FW Public Schools improvements, I see this as nothing more than a political tactic. I believe its an effort from the Peters campaign to reach out to all the neo-conservative voters who are opposed to the HS project. This move might do more harm than good for his campaign. I could certainly see Kelty coming up with this idea for a public vote on HS, but not Peters. Maybe the Kelty/Peters race will come down to who can sabotage the momentum for revitalizing downtown FW the fastest.
Can anybody figure out what Peter's position is? In the FWOB interview, he was against it as proposed. The link above says he is for it. Looks to me like he is just pandering, but trying to do it without directly jumping on the Kelty bandwagon. Silly.
Just like the majority in our fair city, Mr. Peters is questioning the baseball stadium portion of the Harrison Square project - This is the only part of this that is in contention - it's the "boondoggle"-(useless and wasteful). John K.
There's that word again, Boondoggle. That's a crowd favorite at this juncture. How come no one uses the word, Bamboozle. It has so much more flair to it.
John, I never have seen a person so epitomize the mindset of the status quo than you. Your continuous boondoggle comments make me throw up a little bit in my mouth.
My god, when I have kids I do not want them growing up in a city governed by John Ks.
Chris W.
Peter's position is a disappointment. However, Sam's statement is spot-on.
I'm having a real hard time with this referendum. I like some of Nelson's plans for economic development for Fort Wayne. I think they are very solid. This referendum really hits me though, it is so late in the process it just seems like a political swing which makes me question his integrity. If I vote Republican, I will likely still support Peters since I believe he has a more solid plan for economic development, but at this stage I am up in the air ...
Dave C.
Though I'm not even back yet, I will be there by election day and will be voting. Sadly, I already told Kelty he'd lost my vote because of his anti-HS stance (my, how I'd love to vote for an architect!), and now Peters has pretty much sealed his fate with me, too. I agree with Corcoran, who sees in this reason to question Peters' political integrity.
I'll be flat out honest. Fort Wayne needs a nightlife. My hope with the stadium was that it might spur a nightlife which is what young professionals want. My fear is that the stadium will be replaced with yet another family friendly activity which will yield no nightlife whatsoever. Nothing against family friendly - that will be on my radar screen someday, but Fort Wayne is already family friendly.
Besides, David, who says a good nightlife is not family friendly. ;-)
http://www.vimeo.com/clip:163250
I agree with anonymous above, this smacks of pandering. It certainly appears to me that he doesn't have the guts to come out for or against it, so at first blush it certainly looks to my eyes like he is straddling the fence.
I am definitely all for HS, but I can at least have more respect for someone that outright opposes it rather than someone trying to make it die a slow death.
I have 4 young kids, so I like family friendly fare, but I still want nightlife in the city.
So, if Kelty is out, and Peters is out..
Is it too late for David to run for Mayor? :)
Jeff
I must say, David, that Nelson was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Quite frankly, this was not a mayoral decision. This was a decision to be made by City Council. Hopefully it still is. However, Kelty's anti-Harrison Square platform helped him garner support from many voters who otherwise had no other reason to vote for him.
I am disappointed with Nelson's announcement, but I'm not sure what else he could/should have done given the some of the poll findings.
There's the problem, barranda - real leaders and visionaries don't change positions based on polls. More often than not, they need to move in spite of them. Mayor Richard is a perfect example of this.
Sam is right though, we ELECT leaders who go out and vote on issues/projects. Apparently Nelson thinks we should overhaul the system and vote on every individual issue, and not allow our elected officials to do so. I'm probably not voting for any Republican now (for Mayor's office).
Scott and Joe, my point is that this was NOT a mayoral decision...at all. There was nothing for Peters or Kelty to vote on. However, Kelty created a facade as if there was. I guess now there is something the mayor can do.
nonetheless, will be interesting to see Graham's response to this.
David - was your post before/after you saw my post? HA
Peters and Kelty will have nothing to do with Harrison Square as mayor. But, Kelty, who will do absolutely anything to become mayor has tried to fool the voters into believing that the republican primary is a referendum on harrison square. This is a conniving move by a conniving person. He is trying to fool the voters into thinking that a vote for him on election day will impact Harrison Square. Kelty is an absolutely horrible candidate and if the voters put him in the mayor's office, we will earn every right to the label of Dumbest City in America.
Ed
Ed
Is Kelty part of the Axis of Evil? The main qualification for inclusion on that list seems to be if they disagree with you.
Shree
Andy - I don't believe that anyone involved in this is attemping to "bamboozle" us. Per Webster's, bamboozled = " to conceal one's true motives by elaborately feigning good intentions so as to gain an end" Boondoggle has a much shorter definition = "useless and wasteful" which better fits the baseball stadium part of the Harrison Square proposal. John. K
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