Oklahoma City Leaders Work to Persuade MAPS 3 Critics

City leaders hosted a town hall meeting Monday evening as part of their last minute efforts to persuade voters to pass the MAPS3 proposal before they head to the polls next Tuesday. However, some are still not buying it.

Monday, November 30th 2009, 7:04 pm

By: News 9


By Dave Jordan, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- City leaders hosted a town hall meeting Monday evening as part of their last minute efforts to persuade voters to pass the MAPS3 proposal before they head to the polls next Tuesday. However, some are still not buying it.

With MAPS3's hefty $777 million price tag, city leaders said they knew it might be a hard sell in a tough economic climate, but they insist MAPS3 is needed to move the city forward.

With the crucial MAPS3 vote just eight days away, city leaders are making the push they hope will translate into passing the measure.

"We are getting closer and closer. It's a week from Tuesday and people are looking at the project with fresh eyes and trying to measure it," said Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett.

Mayor Cornett insists Oklahoma City's economic future hangs in the balance, but he's stresses all the projects within MAPS3 are not just for the benefit of the business community.

"We have senior health and wellness centers that will be built north, east, south, and west. We have 75 miles of sidewalks that'll be built out in the suburban areas," Cornett said.

But for some, MAPS3 is a hard sell.

"We are in the midst of an international, national financial crisis," said Porter Davis, with the grassroots group KILLTHEMAPSTAX.COM.

Davis said in this economic climate, the city should propose a tax cut, and that the MAPS projects can wait.

"There is nothing so urgent about any of these MAPS tax projects, which means it has to start immediately or the city will suffer irreparable harm," Davis said.

Economic Professor David May said the city has been pretty transparent about how long the tax will last, but he believes it could go a step further.

"There's not a lot of specificity in each of the individual projects. They tell you, 'OK there's going to be a big park, there's going to be a big convention center, but we don't know specifically how that money's going to be spent,"' May said.

Davis has challenged Mayor Cornett to a debate on the merits and timing of the Maps 3 proposal. Mayor Cornett said a debate won't happen because he and his staffers are booked trying to get the message out about the projects.

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