With President Bush set to head north of the border in a state visit to Canada, a Canadian official has been advising Washington on a critical political issue. A Montreal city councilman has been in contact with District Council Chairman Linda Cropp regarding the Montreal Expos-now-Washington Nationals baseball team sending warning that D.C. should beware.
The Post quotes a letter sent by Montreal’s Marvin Rotrand:
MLB’s honeyed words are only calculated to open the public purse. A dispassionate analysis should however convince [the] D.C. Council that the magnitude of the expenditure and the accompanying tax breaks are really not [in] your interest.
UPDATE: We think we’re going crazy. The Post had quoted the letter in an earlier online version, but now that passage has been removed from the current version. It appears that Cropp is offering an “eleventh hour” proposal, which may makes some of what we write below out of date. We’ll have to compare some of the earlier and later editions of Tuesday’s Post. …
We’re sure that some will say to ignore the Canadian’s advice, but this echos some interesting analysis saying that the stadium-spurred redevelopment doesn’t always work or is even cost effective.
Regardless of this cross-border development, the District Council is ready to vote today and Mayor Anthony Williams is right now claiming victory, despite admitting that it will be a narrow one. Out of the 13 councilmembers, six are against the proposal, five are for it. The remaining two, Cropp and Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham are leaning toward voting yes, though are very hesitant.
And we haven’t even gotten through the amendment process. Stay tuned, this will be a wild ride the Wilson Building hasn’t seen in quite some time. The Post previews some of the amendments planned to be offered by At-Large Councilmember David Catania and Ward 4 Councilmember Adrian Fenty (left). Catania will offer “up to two dozen amendments,” and Fenty, who plans to offer just four, will present a zinger that’s sure to rile Williams and Major League Baseball officials and stoke the flames of Peter Angelos‘ schadenfreude: The Nationals would have to play at RFK Stadium permanently. (No word on what D.C. United may think of that prospect.)
>> By the way, check out Torontoist for Canadian reaction to President Bush’s visit to Nova Scotia and Ottawa.
