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What other hypothetical questions should we ask the voters?
For starters, how about:
"Should we have hypothetical advisory referendums?"
* Why meaningless? Because the RTA Board is not going to propose spending the entire allowable half-cent sales tax increase on a commuter-train-only service as the question assumes. If the RTA Board proposes commuter trains at all, it will be as part of a package in one form or another.
Was 911 a CIA conspiracy?
ReplyDeleteHow about:
ReplyDelete"Should we leave political pandering to national figures like Palin or Gingrich and get back to focusing on *actual* issues?"
or
"Do you support spending one trillion dollars in this economy on widening the highway between Madison and the IL state border?"
or
"Do you like ice cream?"
The possibilities are ENDLESS!!!
Stop signs on Winnequah?
ReplyDeleteAnd by the way, the council never debated the Iraq war; we debated whether to place the Iraq war on a referendum ballot after a citizen group's effort was stymied by a technicality.
ReplyDeletehttp://mononadoug.blogspot.com/2008/06/council-consideration.html
Assuming you supported the move to place the Iraq war on the ballot, I'm sure you'll be telling us why that referendum was different than the RTA referendum. If you didn't support the effort to place the Iraq war on a referendum, my apologies in advance.
"Assuming you supported the move to place the Iraq war on the ballot, I'm sure you'll be telling us why that referendum was different than the RTA referendum."
ReplyDeleteWell, I briefly addressed this question here:
http://mononadoug.blogspot.com/2010/08/dane-county-rta-status.html
But, the text you quote from my 2008 post also explains one of the differences. A citizens group had collected many signatures (700 plus, I think) under the state's law that allows citizens to place questions on the ballot. The city attorney ruled the format of their question was incorrect and it was disqualified by the city clerk.
The council voted to put the question on the ballot anyway because they had demonstrated a large amount of public support for the referendum and had been denied access to the ballot on a technicality.
The other difference is that Iraq War was not a hypothetical; it was already going on.
Clear enough?
Referendum Question #2: Would you favor committing city funds to resolve the question of how much wood a woodchuck chuck would chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
ReplyDeleteReferendum Question #3: Would you support changing the election process in Monona so that those who pander to fear, misinform the public, raise the spectre of crisis where none exists, and pit people against one another for their own political benefit, while wasting taxpayers' money, are not allowed on the ballot ever again?
Thanks, Doug. This is quite fun... but depressingly sad, too. What a world.
"how much wood a woodchuck chuck would chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?"
ReplyDeleteI'll have to recuse myself on the wood chucking referendum. And just what makes you think a woodchuck can't chuck wood? Hmm?
I will bite, but I should read over this with a grain of sand and not post. Why not have a referendum? As I undertand the RTA they can allocate the city of MOnona's tax money and use to pay for a train from Middleton to downtown Madison, right? AND we would have not control? Thus, tax dollars would or could move easily from our city to theirs with no beneift to ours
ReplyDeleteFurther, aren;t a number of communities haveing non-binding questions about the RTA on their ballots this fall?
Finally, why is this republican iisue, nonesene-being dragged about? As I view it the only reubulican in elected city govt is our current Mayor. Bluntly, the cc seems like different shades of democrats if you ask me.
"Why not have a referendum?"
ReplyDeleteThere *will* be a referendum once the RTA Board develops a plan. That will be a vote based on an actual plan and not a hypothetical non-existent plan (which is what the current proposal in front of the Monona council calls for).
"the cc seems like different shades of democrats if you ask me." I assume you mean Democrats not democrats. I'm pretty sure at least half of the council members typically vote for GOP candidates.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete"Why not have a referendum?"
ReplyDeleteAnonymous is missing the point of your post. A referendum on Monona's fall ballot would have as much to do with governance as asking whether we should allow cows to fly non-stop to Chicago or if Wisconsin should claim the moon as our own since it's made of cheese or if Monona should impose a 1/2-cent sales tax increase to pay for facelifts for ugly rocks.
Will you let those of us who are opposed to an increase in sales tax to fund commuter rail (even though it's just a "part") when it's the right time to hold such a referendum?
ReplyDeleteIs your beef with the timing of a referendum? Or something else?
"Will you let those of us who are opposed to an increase in sales tax to fund commuter rail (even though it's just a "part") when it's the right time to hold such a referendum?
ReplyDeleteIs your beef with the timing of a referendum? Or something else?"
Come on, read the original post, above, and my post and comments here: http://mononadoug.blogspot.com/2010/08/dane-county-rta-status.html
Sunspots get in your eyes or something? ;->
The appropriate time to have the referendum will be when the RTA Board develops a plan. There will then be a single referendum across the entire area covered by the RTA.
Right now, there is no proposal to vote on. And the proposed referendum is NOT consistent with YOUR stated views. It does not ask whether any sales tax money should be spent on rail, but only whether the entire half-cent should be spent on rail.
Alder Wiswell asked me to remove the reference to his wife's political contributions from a comment. Fair enough. So here it is with "Mrs." deleted.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I have found that web site to be underinclusive as have some other folks I have asked. I know I've given money to Democrats before. Not a lot because I tend to volunteer to do leg work in those races when there is a need and make I small contributions in local non-partisan races.
"Let's follow the money. The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign maintains a database that is better than the one the state keeps because it goes back further in time. http://www.wisdc.org/index.php?module=cms&page=12
Mr.[] Wiswell [has] made many contributions to Republican candidates, with just one to a Dem. These contributions are old. There is nothing recent, but Mr. Wiswell is a registered lobbyist and there are rules governing his contributions - most lobbyists don't make direct campaign contributions but rather they twist other arms to do so ;)
Mr. Kahl has made Republican contributions (Van Hollen).
Mr. Kugle has made Republic contributions (Mark Green), and he has for many years displayed Republican candidate yard signs for partisan races.
Mr. Wood, Mr. Munson and Mr. Busse do not appear in the search for contributions. However, Mr. Wood was active in the Obama campaign, I believe."