Why Did The River Tax Fail?
Tulsa County residents have spoken, voting down a sales tax for improvements along the Arkansas River. After the election results came in Tuesday night, Tulsa's mayor and the chair of the County CommissionWednesday, October 10th 2007, 5:00 pm
By:
News On 6
Tulsa County residents have spoken, voting down a sales tax for improvements along the Arkansas River. After the election results came in Tuesday night, Tulsa's mayor and the chair of the County Commission both said voters didn't want river development. But, The News On 6’s Emory Bryan reports there is more to the no vote.
The opponents of Tulsa's river plan found plenty of reasons to vote against it. Polling just before the election showed many voters simply didn't want to pay more taxes, or thought other priorities, like the streets, should come first.
The News On 6-“Tulsa World†Oklahoma Poll showed 34% thought private donors should pay the full cost of river improvements and 10% opposed the plan because they didn't have confidence in the people behind it. Pollster Bill Shapard said voters even turned on the Our River Yes campaign's biggest donor.
"But the way that got spun by the no side was, if he's going to put up all that money, George Kaiser, why doesn't he just pay for all of it. And so while I think George Kaiser and his generosity was the greatest asset for the yes campaign, it also became their greatest liability," Oklahoma Poll pollster Bill Shapard said.
The vote disappointed people who use the river now, who believe it has great potential.
"To have this area much more improved and developed, it's a shame it didn't go through," river trail user Sean Capron said.
The Oklahoma Poll showed only 2% of people in Tulsa County think developing the river is a waste of money, but many were confused about the vote. A third of those polled thought it was the Channels plan to build islands in the river, some thought it was a plan to move the Drillers to Jenks and others thought it was a downtown development deal.
Supporters of the river plan just hope it won't go away for good.
"I just hope it isn't years before it comes up again," said Kimberly Pettit, river trail user.
While voters didn't have any single overwhelming reason to oppose, those groups joined together forming a majority. The question that remains is what county leaders will do in response to the vote, whether the whole thing will go on the shelf or if they’ll try to rework it to make it more acceptable.
Watch the video: Some Reasons Why The River Tax Failed
Related Stories:
2/9/2007 Record Donation Aids Expansion Of River Parks Trail
6/20/2007 River Development Plans
6/21/2007 New Plans For Arkansas River Development
7/17/2007 River Development Reaches Another Landmark
7/18/2007 River Developments Hinges On Vote Of The People
7/18/2007 Arkansas River Development Plan Announced
7/19/2007 Campaign Planned To Push River Development
7/20/2007 River Development Plan Similar To One Already Passed
7/26/2007 City Councilor Has A New Plan To Pay For River Development
7/29/2007 Explaining Development Along The Arkansas River
7/30/2007 River Tax Debate Continues
7/31/2007 River Plan Not Popular With Tulsa County Residents
7/31/2007 River Plan Reactions
8/9/2007 River Development Plans Move Ahead
8/21/2007 River Tax Groups Turn To The Internet For Support
8/22/2007 Republican Group Against Arkansas River Tax
9/4/2007 Our River Yes Kicks Off River Development Campaign
9/5/2007 People For And Against River Tax Begin Campaigns
9/6/2007 Groups Battling For Votes On Arkansas River Tax
9/8/2007 North Tulsa Residents Rally Against River Tax
9/9/2007 River Tax Supporters Face Upstream Battle
9/13/2007 Rock The River Looks For Your Vote With Entertainment
9/16/2007 More People Getting Behind River Tax Plan
9/19/2007 Students Debate River Tax Plan
9/19/2007 City Takes A Stand Against River Tax
9/20/2007 River Development Swing Vote
9/20/2007 QT Unveils Its Plans For The River
9/21/2007 From Dry River Bed To Lakeside Community
9/23/2007 'Run For Our River' Set for October 7th
9/24/2007 Rally Held Against River Tax Proposal
9/25/2007 River Tax Supporters Reach Out To North Tulsa Community
9/26/2007 River Opponents Given New Incentive To Pass River Tax
9/27/2007 Who’s Donating To River Development?
9/30/2007 After Decades Of Wait And See, River's Future At Crossroads
9/30/2007 Will River Development Hurt Jenks’ River Businesses?
10/1/2007 Community Will Decide City And County Sales Taxes In Same Election
10/2/2007 River Tax Forum Held
10/4/2007 EXCLUSIVE: George Kaiser Talks About The River Tax Proposal
10/4/2007 Street Construction Money Dispute
10/4/2007 River Development Plans Hinge On River Tax Vote
10/5/2007 River Tax Package Includes A Rebate
10/5/2007 Archaeological Finds Along The Arkansas River
10/5/2007 Where Will The River Tax Money Go?
10/6/2007 Oklahoma Poll Shows A Split 'River Tax' Vote
10/7/2007 Final Push For River Tax
10/7/2007 Last Minute River Push
10/8/2007 City Against River Tax Claims Supporters Are Misleading Their Voters
10/9/2007 Voters Say No To River Tax
10/10/2007 Officials: Recovery From Sales Tax Defeat Could Take Years
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