December 21, 2005
Better Late Than Never: The District Promotes Baseball
If you head on over to the District's official website, you'd be faced with the usual fare -- links for residents and visitors, the day's news and press releases, and online services.
But starting today, the website took on a promotional attitude, featuring a banner with a picture of a baseball diamond and the logo for the Washington Nationals along with a title stating, "The Southeast Stadium Is a Home Run for DC." Below that banner and title are links to news, public testimony, and webcasts on all things baseball.
By the look of it, one would fast get the impression that D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams was trying to sell his plan to build a publicly-financed stadium along South Capitol Street. One would also want to ask: Isn't this effort a year too late?
It was last December that the D.C. Council demonstrated in a 7-6 vote in favor of a $535 million stadium that Williams hadn't sold them on the plan. It was just this Monday that they once again sent Williams that message by threatening to vote down the stadium lease agreement. In that year worth of debates over the merits of a publicly-financed stadium, Williams rarely appeared before the council to address their concerns, much less bothered to fight the growing tide of skepticism that accompanied the stadium's growing costs.
And now they've suddenly decided to try and court public opinion? It's kind of like selling a war to a country two years after that war started.
Well, better late than never.
|
Sickening. So the Mayor has decided to display a giant corporate advertizing banner front and center on the official District of Columbia website.
Funny, I don't see an ad disclaimer, equal space given to the dissenting majority (residents & Council) on the stadium issue, or even a link explaining to citizens why the Mayor insists on subordinating the life necessities of District residents to a private, for-profit, monopoly entertainment corporation.
Mayor Williams is an embarrassing shill.
I think it's inappropriate.
It might possibly be appropriate on his personal blog, but I don't agree with posting it on the home page. It's not repreentative of the community. And I'm even a Nats fan!
Speaking of which, why isn't the Mayor blogging anymore?
Meh. As a comparison, this is the current headline on the nyc.gov site: "Mayor Bloomberg Updates New Yorkers On Illegal Strike by Transit Workers." It's executive prerogative to give viewpoints. I respect that.
Why would you expect that there be an ad disclaimer or equal space? I don't mean that to be snide. The web site isn't an open forum--it's the mayor's mouthpiece. It's the mayor's job to promote policies that he supports, and this is one. We expect him to be "representative of the community," but we also ask him to promote the development of the city. He thinks that he is doing the latter.
It's infuriating that people don't seem to see the diff between a pro-city policy and a pro-baseball policy. Pro-city is using baseball for the city's own ends. I really think that Williams is trying to do this. Pro-baseball is just handing money to baseball. Ironically, that is what people like Jim Graham are prepared to do by handing over a stadium at RFK, where there will be zero development impact.
At least it's more honest that the signs that say "Schools B4 Stadiums" around town.
There's not one pot of money we are fighting over! If there is no stadium, it will not mean one extra dime for any other project in the city.
And you think the business community will line up to support Kathy Patterson's bill on school improvements (which also raises taxes) if she votes against the stadium?? In the words of Judas Priest, "You got another thing comin'!"
I was at the rally earlier this week, and you know who was suprisingly good, in my opinion? Vincent Orange. He made the speech the Mayor should have been giving for the past two years. Not saying I'd vote for him...just my observation.