September 15, 2004
More opponents for Expos stadium
Poor Bud Selig. As if things weren't going badly enough with his stadium extortion schemes for the Montreal Expos, now yesterday's council primaries in Washington, D.C., swept out three allies of pro-stadium Mayor Anthony Williams and replaced them with stadium opponents: Vincent Gray, Kwame Brown, and Marion Barry. (Yes, that Marion Barry. No, not that one.)
According to the Washington Post, voters east of the Anacostia River - that's D.C.-speak for "poor folks" - were angered by Mayor Williams and the outgoing councilmembers' focus on downtown development instead of addressing crime and schools. So while not specifically a referendum on the stadium, it's another instance where low-income voters weren't swayed by promises of trickle-down economic development.
That's D.C. Over in Virginia, meanwhile, the Post is reporting that Gov. Mark Warner has joined key legislative leaders in raising questions about the use of state "moral obligation" bonds for a new stadium. If true, this is a huge deal: As previously noted, Virginia's stadium authorizing legislation expires at the end of the year, and the state legislature isn't scheduled to meet again until January - so the only way a stadium bill can get passed is if the governor calls a special legislative session. These means that Gov. Warner can, if he so chooses, effectively issue a pocket veto of stadium plans simply by declining to call the legislature back into session.
Put it all together, and it's looking more and more like another April in Montreal. Time to update the Odds Chart (see righthand column).
