BY LUCY MAY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Enough registered voters in Hamilton County have spoken to put the controversial baseball stadium debate on November's ballot, Hamilton County election officials determined Wednesday.
The unprecedented ballot initiative seeks to change the form of county government by creating a charter that would prohibit commissioners from spending any tax dollars to build a new Reds stadium anywhere but Broadway Commons.
The Reds have already rejected a ballpark at Broadway, however, and the county and team already have a tentative deal to build a new stadium on the Ohio River downtown.
It's unclear whether a passing vote for Broadway would nullify that deal, as Broadway backers insist.
The Hamilton County Board of Elections will determine Monday whether the way signatures were gathered and how the petition is worded passes legal muster.
Election officials expect opposition to surface, but thousands of petition signers want a say.
"The people who voted in the tax increase were not being consulted," said Ann Fogel of Madeira of the March 1996 approval of a sales tax increase for two new stadiums.
That vote did not mandate where the stadiums would be built. Ms. Fogel said she thought about whether county government would be harmed by a vote but decided it was worth the risk.
"If this is so dangerous, I still think the issue is important enough and the response to the petition is so strong that the county needs to investigate a way to give people a say," she added.
John Allen of Westwood said he signed a Broadway Commons petition because he doesn't like the way the riverfront is being developed. "I really don't like the usage of the riverfront for those concrete monoliths they call stadiums," he said.
"I think the citizens could do a better job in deciding the location." If it comes to a vote, Jenny Dame of Oakley said she's for Broadway.
"I just think that filling the waterfront with stadiums is stupid," said Mrs. Dame, who signed a petition.
"Actually, I'd rather they just scrap the whole blessed thing and put Crosley Field back where it was."
The sheer number of people who signed the petitions makes the issue a political hot potato.
Tim Burke, chairman of the county Board of Elections and of Hamilton County's Democratic party, said even he was "stunned" by the number of signatures that were submitted.
"What they did is not easy to do," Mr. Burke said. "The number of signatures collected are enough to make any politician in his right mind sit up and take notice."
With the threat of the petition drive looming, commissioners Tom Neyer Jr. and Bob Bedinghaus voted last month to build a new Reds ballpark just west of the Crown at a site known as Baseball on Main or the "Wedge."
Officials estimate the project will cost $297 million, with a ballpark completed in 2002 or 2003.
Commissioner John Dowlin is a long-time Broadway supporter. While Mr. Bedinghaus and Mr. Neyer oppose the petition drive, both have said they don't plan to lead the charge against it.
"Every bone in my body is anxious to engage this debate, just like we did when we convinced 60 percent of the voters of Hamilton County to start this process," Mr. Bedinghaus said. "Now it's important to finish the job."
Mr. Bedinghaus believes most voters will support the riverfront over Broadway.
Of the nearly 45,000 signatures Broadway backers submitted, the Board of Elections staff checked 36,000, director Bruce Taylor said Monday. About 75 percent of those checked were valid, and the group still has nearly 10,000 signatures left that can be checked if any of the 27,000 verified signatures are challenged, Mr. Taylor said.
That's an important milestone in the Broadway group's efforts, said Cincinnati City Councilman Todd Portune, a leader of the effort. "In baseball terms, this means we've got the runner in scoring position, and we're closer to getting the runner home," he said. Mr. Burke and Mike Allen, a member of the Board of Elections and chairman of Hamilton County's Republican Party, say they don't expect opponents to challenge the number of signatures collected. Rather, they expect challenges to the petition language.
But Don Mooney, a lawyer representing the Broadway Commons group, said with as many signatures as the group got, he's not so sure anyone will try to keep the issue off the ballot.
Cincinnati City Councilman Jim Tarbell, one of the leaders of the Broadway effort, said any action taken to challenge the petitions would be "an insult to this community."
He added, "Let's get the doggone thing on the ballot and get it over with."
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