Why Did the Transit Referendum Fail? And What's Next?

In case you have not had the chance to read about last night’s election results, the Hillsborough County Transportation Sales Tax Referendum failed to pass by a vote of roughly 58% to 42%. Indeed, it is very disappointing news to all of us. I want to thank you for your support and hard work during the past year. Although this single referendum failed, we succeeded in engaging hundreds of young professionals and spreading the message that public transit truly matters to our quality of life and economic development opportunities.

However, we are not giving up on our efforts to encourage an economic and physical environment that creates opportunities for young professionals. There are other initiatives and issues which we can accomplish, and that work begins today. But first, I’d like to weigh in on some reasons why this referendum might have failed and perhaps provide some insight into how we can improve upon our foundations.

The current economic climate is very discouraging. I do not blame anyone for being extremely concerned with how the government is spending tax dollars and their desire to keep more of their own hard-earned money. As supporters of this referendum, we knew that anti-tax sentiment was at an all-time high, and rightly so. The lesson we should learn from this is to refine our message. Voters must clearly understand the benefits to the local economy. They must be able to differentiate between “federal waste” and local investments which have a greater effect on their daily lives than most federal spending programs. We cannot simply say “jobs, jobs, jobs”. We have to explain how the process of economic development creates jobs, how the movement of people and goods affects commerce, how transit oriented development works, and how livable communities attract educated professionals and entrepreneurs. The benefits must outweigh the costs in voters’ minds.

2) The specific routes and costs of the projects were not finalized. Taxpayers have a hard time rationalizing an investment when they do not know exactly what they are paying for and how much it costs. Unfortunately, HART’s alternatives analyses were not completed in time for the election. We were unable to tell voters precisely where new routes would go and how exact costs would be structured. In future ballot measures, we need to be sure the public understands the specifics. The best decision is an informed decision.

3) Voters outside of central Tampa were not aware of the potential benefits. Have a look at the results by precinct from the Supervisor of Election’s website: http://results.enr.clarityelections.com/FL/Hillsborough/22912/39204/en/md.html?cid=8035

The green areas indicate precincts where the referendum passed, the red areas are where it was rejected. It is evident that we failed to reach voters outside of Downtown, South Tampa, and the I-275 Corridor. We need to effectively communicate the benefits of transit to those who might not be serviced by light rail. Bus service, road work, and future commuter rail would service them. Also, transit reduces their traffic congestion, preserves green space and low-density communities by focusing high-density growth around transit stops, and encourages economic development across the county, not just in one area.

4) Either young professionals did not turn out to vote, or they were opposed to this referendum. I have not yet found exit polling to support this assertion, but I believe many young people did not vote in Hillsborough County (which historical evidence usually confirms). According to the Census Bureau, the median age of the county is 36.6 years old, and those aged 20-34 represent 20.3% of the total population. Ages 35 and over represent 52.4% of the total population. According to the Supervisor of Elections, voters aged 18-29 represent 19.8% of all registered voters. That means voters over age 30 comprise 80% of all voters. (I know the data ranges don’t all match up, but that’s what was available.) Those figures mean that Hillsborough is a fairly young county, but a higher proportion of the middle-aged and elderly population actually vote. This is similar to national trends, and seems like common knowledge, but it shows that we have our work cut out for us. The demographics we tried to reach were the 18-35 year old college students and young professionals. I believe we greatly succeeded in connecting to our “base”: young professionals who were already involved in community/business organizations. However, we need to reach young people who are not plugged into their communities. That is a difficult and daunting task, but I know that we have the right message and can win them over with the right strategy. Until otherwise proven wrong, I refuse to believe that the majority of young professionals are opposed to initiatives that so obviously benefit our generation. The real challenge is engaging them.

Yesterday’s referendum may not have succeeded, but it does not mean our ideas have failed. We are unified in our desire for a better Tampa Bay region. I have no doubt that we will achieve our goals in spite of setbacks and naysayers. Thank you again for your support, and let’s continue down the path to a promising future.

If you have any comments on the election, suggestions for strategy, or just random thoughts, please send them my way.

Put Transit Tax on the Ballot in Tampa!

Here is a St. Pete Times editorial that logically and reasonably states why the one cent transit tax should be placed on the ballot this fall: http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/editorials/article1094220.ece

Tomorrow night (5/13) at 6:00 PM, there is a Hillsborough County Commission public hearing at the All Peoples Life Center at 6105 E. Sligh Ave. in Tampa. Please show up to voice your support for this ballot measure and the need for transit alternatives in Tampa.


For more information, check out:

http://www.movinghillsboroughforward.com/

and

http://transitiontampabay.org/

GOP Convention 2012

Sources say the GOP is likely to hold their 2012 convention in Tampa, which is one of the three finalists being considered. Whether you are a Republican or not, this is welcome news for the local economy and national image of Tampa Bay.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0510/37129.html

TRANSITion Tampa Bay In the News

Our young-professionals-for-transit group, TRANSITion Tampa Bay, was featured in Robert Trigaux's column in the St. Petersburg Times today (see below). We're building some great momentum. Help us out by following us on Facebook and Twitter and attending our events. A website is in the works and should be launched next week.

"A fledgling young business professionals group is carving out a niche as next-generation supporters of the push for better mass transit in the Tampa Bay area. The group calls itself TRANSITion Tampa Bay.

Its co-founders include Brett Milke, 24, and Brian Seel, 25, (son of Pinellas County Commissioner Karen Seel) — two local University of Florida pals who now are project engineers for construction companies. Milke, who works for the Murray Co. in Clearwater, says the new grass roots effort wants to link with other young professional groups like Emerge Tampa to build more buzz for mass transit — specifically for the November ballot referendum in Hillsborough that seeks a 1-cent sales tax increase to help fund light rail and a better bus service in the county. Especially now that the feds have kick-started a high-speed Tampa-Orlando rail project.

TRANSITion Tampa Bay has an event with a speaker from HART (Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority) Thursday evening from 6 to 8 p.m., in South Tampa at the Lime, 915 S Howard Ave. It is still pulling a Web site together, but you can find info about the group on Facebook. One economic development group lending a hand, meeting space and some introductions to the new organization is the pro-mass-transit Tampa Bay Partnership."

http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/area-auto-sales-sluggish-compared-to-the-national-numbers/1077222

Misplaced Civil Unrest

Last night, the St. Petersburg City Council voted to turn over a section of public sidewalk to the owners of BayWalk. This was a revote from a meeting two weeks ago where the motion failed. The sidewalk in question has been used for years as the unofficial protest location for the indignant masses of St. Petersburg. Their causes varied from anti-Iraq war to anti-poverty to African-American civil rights and beyond.

BayWalk is a retail/entertainment area built a decade ago that supposedly ushered in the revitalization of St. Pete's downtown. It has fallen on tough times the last few years, and tenancy is at about 30%. The existing tenants, including a few restaurants, stores, and a movie theater, have claimed that the protests interrupt business and bring negative attention to the development. That is an entirely reasonable assertion. By ceding the right of way to BayWalk, protesters may now be prohibited from demonstrating on private property.

I am not an advocate of limiting free speech in any way, nor of the criminalization of protesting. However, repeated and habitual protesting in one select location that punitively damages the ability of private enterprises to conduct business is completely reprehensible. By definition, protests should take place at an area appropriate to their grievances: City Hall, public parks, the National Mall in DC, etc. According to precedent set by the U.S. Supreme Court in Lloyd Corp v. Tanner 407 U.S. 551 (1972), protesting may not take place on private property that has "no relation to any purpose for which the center was built and being used."

The City Council was right to transfer the public right of way to BayWalk in order to prevent unmerited protesting. If a group wishes to protest a BayWalk restaurant's use of tomatoes grown by farmers who operate under unjust migrant labor practices, they have that right. They do not have the right to protest against abortion or war or any other cause unrelated to BayWalk that disrupts their business.

The real icing on the cake of this issue was the egregious display of misplaced civil unrest at the Council meeting last night. Following the City Council's vote, fanatical free speech advocates marched out in objection to the decision. A heated discourse then took place between two men on opposite sides of the debate, which led to a physical altercation. It should be noted that one of these men was the brother of a Councilman who voted in favor of the motion.

Local politics is nasty, period. Citizens get more enraged, rude, and out-of-line over local issues than they ever do for national issues. Don't believe me? Just attend a few city or county government meetings. This type of behavior is inappropriate and is disrespectful to every person seeking a legitimate discussion of the issues at hand. I am disappointed and embarrassed for the City of St. Petersburg for the manner in which this meeting digressed. All Americans should hold themselves to a higher standard of civilized political discourse.

(I should have prefaced this by stating that I used to work for the Sembler Company, the developer of BayWalk. However, Sembler sold BayWalk to another owner in September 2008 and therefore has not been involved in this current debate.)

Common Since: The St. Petersburg City Council was right to transfer public sidewalk space to BayWalk in an effort to impede the spiraling decline of a development critical to the success of their downtown. Fanatical free speech activists should start conducting themselves with dignity and move their assorted protests to the steps of City Hall or other public venues. Better yet, they should cease the desire to gripe about everything they don't like and involve themselves in constructive solutions.

Public Transportation Matters

If you live in the Tampa Bay area and are interested in the future of development, the Tampa Bay Partnership is sponsoring a regional transportation forum featuring the Mayor of Charlotte, NC as a guest speaker. Regional and local public transit is severely lacking in Tampa Bay. Florida, and especially Tampa Bay, was ill-equipped for the population influx of the last 50 years and has exceeded the maximum carrying capacity of its road networks. TBARTA (Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority) has recently adopted a master plan that calls for future light rail, commuter rail, and bus rapid transit. I firmly believe that the sustainable growth of this area depends upon a comprehensive and innovative approach to public transportation. The city of Charlotte is a compelling model of success and Tampa Bay can glean several lessons from Charlotte's approach to transit oriented development (TOD) and light rail.

Common Since: A comprehensive public transportation network can be a catalyst for smarter economic and population growth. Tampa Bay needs it like a prostitute needs antibiotics.