Roberta MacGlashan,
District 4 Supervisor
The votes have been cast and as of this afternoon the arena tax ballot measures are going forward, the ordinance having passed 4-1 in the Board of Supervisors. The one nay vote came from District 4 supervisor Robert MacGlashan. (District 4 includes Antelope, Orangevale and Citrus Heights.)
The Rhetorical Genius award goes once again to Roger Dickinson:
“If there was ever a question that it was right to let voters decide, it is this one,” Dickinson said
It’s good to point out that your personal preferences coincide with the law, especially when you are an elected official.
“Beyond the opportunity to let people speak to exercise democracy, the ultimate question is if whether (sic) we choose to invest to make ours a first class community. My answer is yes; I believe we are worth it.”
You know what else is better than democracy? A first-class dunk from Ron Artest. Boo-ya! Seriously, does he read his own quotes in the paper? If I parse that sentence correctly, he is saying he thinks it’s more important that we have a first-class community than for democracy to be exercised.
The Sac Rag 
If you’re against the arena thing, that’s cool. If something Dickinson says is wrong on substance (like the 26%-30% Maloof contribution) then by all means call him out. I just don’t see the need to attack/nitpick every single thing that comes out of arena proponent’s mouth.
I don’t think either side could ask for more than the voters being able to decide.
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Uh, it’s a blog, dude, that’s what I do.
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Actually one side could, and did, ask for more: opponents such as Dave Jones (D) asked that the astronomical costs of a senseless ballot measure be spared or that the question put to the voters be presented in a more direct way. Both the fact of this issue being put before the voters and the way the ballot measure will be drafted are in the discretion of the elected officials. They are to be held accountable for the costs of the election and the propriety of the ordinance. Plus yeah, being nitpicky is one of the best things about a blog yo! I don’t spell check though.
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Not to mention: the second ballot initiative will be non-binding, ensuring that the public actually does not get to decide. Not a cent of it will legally have to be spent for any purpose.
Now of course, you say, they’ll spend it on the arena and other stuff. Well then, why don’t they propose it that way?
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Agreed. The measure doesn’t really let the voters decide anything. It merely provides technical compliance with the law. It is not presenting a true choice to the voters. A true choice would allow the voters to levy a tax for public purposes such as parks or flood control without having to also fund a place of business for the Maloofs. What a farce. Kudos to Supervisor MacGlashan, who stated yesterday that while she believed the measure was legally sufficient she did not consider it in keeping with the intent of the law. In other words, just because we can do this doesn’t mean we should.
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Roger has let me down on this one….
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