Nick Jimenez

Sunday, November 12, 2000

The election did settle some issues

This must be the election from hell. The person who designed the "butterfly" ballot must be the same person who writes those "some assembly required" instructions we find in boxes on Christmas morning.
   Or maybe he's the same jokester who writes the installation instructions for windshield wipers. (Does the U-shaped hook go through the hole forwards or backwards?)
   We may find out the cause of global warming before we find out who the next president is.
   But the election Tuesday did settle a few things. And it opened up new questions.
   One thing the election settled is that the economic development sales tax is dead in Corpus Christi for a very long time. If proponents of the tax couldn't pass it on a day when 49 percent of the city's electorate turned out, they are unlikely to pass it under any other imaginable circumstances.
   The proposal would have set up a one-eighth cent additional sales tax to create a fund to bring in new businesses and industries. Sounds like a good idea to me, but the majority, by a few hundred, said no.
   Of course, we could call for a recount, but let it alone. (Incidentally, and I'm not making this up: The city secretary's office is still waiting for the overseas ballots to come in on the bond issues, so there's still a chance.)
   The election tells us that Corpus Christi voters like to have things concrete - and in asphalt. They voted for streets, recreational centers, fire facilities, dog pounds, seawall repairs and a new arena. But an economic development sales tax? No way.
   Perhaps the link between the tax and results is too weak, or too ephemeral.
   Could the issue return to the ballot? Perhaps, but only if the issue is tied to a definite outcome, judging by the results of the election.
   What the election also told us, despite the defeat of the economic development tax, is that the more people go to the polls, the better the chance for city issues to pass. And it also helps if supporters put their money where their mouths are.
   What was the difference between 1997's Community Progress Partnership fiasco and Nov. 7? We need only take a look at Precinct 98 at Moody High School. In 1997, a total of 337 votes were cast "for" and "against" in the CPP election at Moody. But Tuesday a total of 1,066 votes were cast "for" and "against" on Proposition 1 alone and 938 of those votes were in favor.
   The same increase in turnout was registered all over the city. However, I'll venture to say that the most dramatic increases were in Westside precincts.
   Could it be that the next target is the tax cap? The ordinance that limits the tax rate to 68 cents has been on the books since 1979. Voter-approved bonds do not count against the cap, but the squeeze gets tighter each year.
   If city tax revenues suddenly pick up, the pressure on the tax cap would lighten and we could live with the tax cap for another few years. But slow growth would put increasing pressure to lift or remove the tax cap.
   If we take our newfound lesson to heart and assume that the best chance to pass a well-presented argument is to go before the voters during a general election, then the best opportunity would be during the 2002 gubernatorial election.
   There is a potential downside to the general election issue. Do we want every issue to become a partisan battle? Do we want the city divided on every street and park improvement project along Republican and Democratic lines? Perhaps the danger is small, but while voters might cast their ballots on single-issue elections strictly as residents, there is a definite partisan labeling that goes on during general elections.
   In the meantime, I have a friend who left for Bulgaria right before the elections. I'm sure he expects to return next week to find out who our next president is. Won't he be surprised?
   (Nick Jimenez can be reached by phone at 886-3787 or by e-mail at jimenezn@caller.com.)
  
  

 
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