Transit advocates are mobilizingagainst County Board's non-binding referendum

An interesting sidelight to the one-man, one-vote bedrock of Democracy is surfacing this week. The County Board is on the cusp of calling for a countywide vote on regional transit ... while proponents of  transit itself are mobilizing against it.

What it all boils down to is this: The County Board, and County Executive Bill McReynolds -- who are 100% in favor of commuter rail as long as it's paid for by a tax on cars rented in Milwaukee and not by a countywide sales tax (No, no, no, the ghost of George Petak, no!!) -- want to put the matter to a referendum. A referendum many are  sure would lose, as it calls for approval of a new tax.

The County Board doesn't want a binding referendum, mind you; just an advisory one. The board still would be able to do whatever it pleases... (So, you ask, why bother with the vote at all? That's the question opponents are asking.)

The resolution, up for second reading and possible final approval at the County Board's meeting Tuesday night would authorize:

"The Placement On The November 2010 Ballot Of An Advisory Referendum Question With Regard To A Possible Additional Tax For Mass Transit Purposes."

Or so the board's agenda reads. Actually, the resolution says much more than that -- we have it all below -- but the ultimate result would be a ballot question asking Racine County voters:

"Should any new tax to support transit or rail services, such as a sales tax or local vehicle registration fee, be permitted in any part of Racine County?"

Regional transit and KRM commuter rail supporters are up in arms. They plan to march on the County Board (The image of villagers brandishing fiery torches inexplicably comes to mind.) to speak out at the board meeting Tuesday.

Mind you, a lot of important Racine and Milwaukee area residents are all in favor of commuter rail. A few weeks ago, Roger Caron, president of RAMAC, was running a radio commercial urging listeners to call Sen. John Lehman and Rep. Cory Mason for their support. (They're both Democrats; Republican Rep. Robin Vos presumably is a lost cause on this issue.) And 32 top business leaders -- from Aurora Health Care, Wheaton Franciscan, Froedtert, Marshall & Ilsley, Johnson Financial, Kranz, SC Johnson, Johnson Controls, Wispark... you get the picture -- wrote to the Legislature earlier this year, "on behalf of the  100,000 employees we represent," urging support of a "multi-modal regional transit authority including Kenosha, Racine and Milwaukee Counties" with "a dedicated funding mechanism."

And many are not. McReynolds himself, in his "State of the County" address last May, said, "Two years ago, this County Board expressed support for commuter rail." (Alas, for regional transit supporters, he didn't stop there.)  "...provided it would be funded by a car rental fee. Earlier this year, while the County Board expressed support for regional transit, it called for an elected governing body, (...or there...) vigorously opposed a sales tax, and insisted that individual communities be able to decide whether to be taxed for transit.

TransitNOW is planning to storm the battlements -- well, they hope to show up en masse at the Couty Board meeting at Ives Grove at 6:30 p.m. this Tuesday -- opposing any such referendum. So is Community for Change.

Kerry Thomas, executive director of TransitNow, calls the proposed referendum question : "clearly biased, inaccurately worded, and misleading." She notes that the proposed RTA legislation mandates a binding referendum for every municipality that wants to implement a sales tax for transit. "This was a request by the County Board, County Executive McReynolds, and Rep. Robin Vos," she says. "Should the board vote for the referendum Tuesday, their vote will take place "before the RTA legislation even has a chance to pass."

Thomas is urging members to speak during the public comment period at the beginning the board meeting, to urge the board "to let municipalities decide for themselves if and when they want to invest in transit, as the RTA legislation calls for. If there must be a referendum, urge them to re-write the referendum question to accurately describe the situation so that the results will be useful.... Let’s make sure that any referendum that is placed is useful and is based on an accurate description of the issue so that it reflects the true wishes of the people, and is not misleading or a waste of time and money."

Kelly Gallaher of Community for Change says much the same. "A non-binding referendum is a waste of the people's time... Non-binding resolutions are almost always an indication of governmental weakness and a failure in leadership. To 'poll' constituents about issues without the benefit of binding action using a flawed and hypothetical question is just stupid. I support the use of ballot resolutions that are binding and reflect real legislation; anything short of that is political theater."

Others see the potential referendum as something else entirely, as a "wedge issue," a hot-button on the ballot to energize, say, the TEA Party movement -- which has been vocal in its opposition to KRM.  (They brought in Randall O'Toole from the CATO Institute a few weeks ago;  he questioned most of transit supporters' economic forecasts.) Once at the polls, this theory goes, these people will vote "right," thus influencing the outcome of other election issues and candidates.


The complete County Board resolution states:

To the Honorable Members of the Racine County Board of Supervisors:

      WHEREAS, mass transit in Southeastern Wisconsin has been the subject of various legislative proposals since 2005, some already enacted and others still pending; and

      WHEREAS, some of these proposals would permit imposition, within Racine County, of new taxes, such as a sales tax or a local vehicle registration fee, to provide the local share of funds for mass transit, which could include both bus and KRM (Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee) commuter rail transit; and

      WHEREAS, in Resolution 2006-160, the Racine County Board of Supervisors expressed its support for a vehicle rental fee as the sole funding mechanism for commuter rail; and

      WHEREAS, in Resolution 2008-134S, the Racine County Board of Supervisors expressed its opposition to a sales tax as a funding mechanism for commuter rail; and

      WHEREAS, given the conflicting provisions of legislative proposals for funding mass transit in Southeastern Wisconsin, and the expectation that more proposals will be introduced, members of the public have expressed a desire that their views on this matter be heard; and

      WHEREAS, the Racine County Board of Supervisors desires to hear the views of the public on this important matter; and

      WHEREAS, subsection 59.52 (25) of the Wisconsin Statutes permits the County Board of Supervisors to conduct a countywide referendum for advisory purposes; and

      WHEREAS, the following advisory referendum question provides a way for the public to express its views on how the local share of mass transit in Racine County should be funded:

    Should any new tax to support transit or rail services, such as a sales tax or local vehicle registration fee, be permitted in any part of Racine County?

      NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Racine County Board of Supervisors will place on the November 2010 ballot the following as an advisory referendum question:

    Should any new tax to support transit or rail services, such as a sales tax or local vehicle registration fee, be permitted in any part of Racine County?

      BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to the Governor, to Racine County’s state legislative delegation, and to the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority (SERTA).