Voters in Hamilton County, OH, decide Tuesday whether to
raise their sales tax a half percent to fund separate new
stadiums for the Bengals and Reds. A front page Q&A in the
CINCINNATI ENQUIRER reveals supporters of the tax include a
majority of the Hamilton County Commission, the Cincinnati City
Council, the Baptist Ministers Conference, the city chapter of
the NAACP, the Hamilton County Republican Party, the Cincinnati
Business Committee, Downtown Cincinnati Inc., and the Greater
Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce. Those opposed include the AFL-
CIO, African-American Legislators of Hamilton County, the city
chapter of the National-African American Leadership Summit, and
the County Democrats. Six state senators, led by Dayton
Republican Charles Horn, are also fighting use of state dollars
for stadiums. Should the tax fail, pro-tax backers say the
county will not pursue an alternative plan or another vote,
making the city responsible for the stadium dilemma. But, tax
foes say a second plan, possibly a smaller sales tax, will appear
on a later ballot (Green & Michaud, CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 3/17).
LAST-DITCH PLEAS: Bengals President Mike Brown penned a
column in Sunday's ENQUIRER supporting the tax. Brown: "We
support it both financially -- as our recent $25 million to $35
million commitment demonstrates -- and emotionally" (CINCINNATI
ENQUIRER, 3/17). In Akron, Terry Pluto says the vote is "too
close to call," but Bart Hubbuch believes "Cincinnati residents
would rather choke than do any favors for [Reds Owner Marge]
Schott" (BEACON JOURNAL, 3/17).
SECRET PLAN? In Atlanta, Len Pasquarelli writes there are
"whispers" that high-ranking NFL officials "wouldn't mind" seeing
the measure fail -- thus paving the way for the Bengals to
eventually replace the Browns in Cleveland (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION,
3/17). The BEACON JOURNAL's Bart Hubbuch agrees, writing:
"Cincinnati is one battle [NFL Commissioner Paul] Tagliabue,
despite what he says publicly, probably wouldn't mind losing. ...
Just about everyone on the league's side of things would like
nothing better than to see the Cincinnati Bengals become the new
version of the Cleveland Browns" (Akron BEACON JOURNAL, 3/17).
