Guys, 1% to go and more than a 1% margin -- it can't change!

Choo choo crime train boondoggle to nowhere ... HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

WooHoo!

 

Way to go Cincinnati! Hope those Applebee's onion rings and Bud Light Limes are good tonight COAST

Smitherman is going to be utterly impotent on council. He and Winburn will have fun screaming (often at each other) in the corner.

And, if my calculations are correct, we have 6 Streetcar Supporters on Council now??  That's EXCELLENT!

Thanks (to whoever) for removing the middle finger photos...

 

...have fun with this #8 contender in the race:

 

"Christopher Smitherman 23,666 5.4%"

Is that really a 6-3 pro rail council?  That's awesome!

Just when I think I don't care about this city or state, election time always reminds me of how much I actually do care. No way would I be this passionate about Issues 2 & 48 if I didn't. Looks like Issue 48 is a victory for us (Take that Smitherman!). Hopefully we can finally get the wheels rolling on the project, SOON. 

Paula Toti? thinks the streetcar is done and was consoling Yvette Simpson who is an obvious supporter....unbelievable what the media does not know.

 

The good....pro-streetcar, democrat majority.  The bad....everyone's favorite overly self-important, divisive clown, Smitherman is back.  Is Roxy one of the most bankable politicians this city has every seen?  She effortlessly cruises again and is the top vote getter.

And, if my calculations are correct, we have 6 Streetcar Supporters on Council now??  That's EXCELLENT!

 

If Sittenfeld sticks to his word, we have 7. And Bortz is gone, so that's 7 WHO CAN VOTE!

Is the final precinct really only 1% of the remaining votes?

And, if my calculations are correct, we have 6 Streetcar Supporters on Council now??  That's EXCELLENT!

 

If Sittenfeld sticks to his word, we have 7. And Bortz is gone, so that's 7 WHO CAN VOTE!

 

Exactly.  This is by far the best outcome we could have ever hoped for in terms of the Cincinnati Streetcar!!!

Smitherman is a troubled sociopath who will do whatever he can to wreck council and cincinnati. We can isolate him, but don't underestimate how much damage one man can do.

Who's going to break the champagne bottle against the streetcar?

Can anyone explain why Issue 9 failed by a larger margin than Issue 48?  I definitely think that 48 was MORE damaging than 9.

^ I honestly think that a lot of folks got confused by the "Yes means No" thing and voted the wrong way - and this affected BOTH sides of the issue. Which side was affected more we will probably never know.

Where is Nathanial Livingston when you need him!?

Good.  Now I can set the bottle of Jack Daniels down and switch to a nice glass of Cabernet.  That tube of goetta is setting in though.  :(

Yo, we gotta get to 500 pages! :D

 

Where's the first place you're going to go on the Cincinnati streetcar???

 

To the STL guy: Uhmm, we just elected 8/9 liberals to council. The other one is a black Republican.

 

(Yes, I still count the president of the NAACP as a liberal...even though he has strange priorities.)

 

Can we get back to discussing utilities, fareboxs, budgets, and overhead wires now?  :-D

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!

 

 

Can we get back to discussing utilities, fareboxs, budgets, and overhead wires now?  :-D

 

Yeah, about that....the city is still considering using the new battery-powered streetcars for the route.  Does this save money by not requiring catenary wire to be built, or does the heightened cost of the vehicles offset that?

Gentlemen(and ladies if there are any),

 

It's been an honor discussing this issue with you all.  Great work done by all. Seriously.  Celebrate through the night. 

 

GREAT WORK! 

 

Can we get back to discussing utilities, fareboxs, budgets, and overhead wires now?  :-D

I say restore state funding.

Thanks to John Schneider for his calming influence and informational posts.  Nice job!

Cox Publishing thinks the amendment was approved:

 

http://www.journal-news.com/news/hamilton-news/rail-amendment-approved-by-slim-margin-1281564.html

Yeah, about that....the city is still considering using the new battery-powered streetcars for the route.  Does this save money by not requiring catenary wire to be built, or does the heightened cost of the vehicles offset that?

 

I don't know the cost specifics, but battery-powered streetcars would likely simplify the design and avoid some of the possible utility conflicts, including the concerns of MSD and CWW about workers accessing the underground utilities under the wire.

So my girlfriend was asking me why I kept refreshing my browser, I told her it was so I could see the Cincinnati streetcar results. She proceeds to walk out of the room saying 'God you're an urban planning nerd!'

 

...I live in Cleveland

 

CONGRATS CINCI!

Lets make my first post a good one!

 

All 173 precincts in:

 

51.5% No

48.5% Yes

 

Well done Cincinnati

 

Congrats!

Welcome MRosen85!  Fantastic first post!

I don't post on here very often, but I am a long time reader of this thread.

 

I am very proud of Cincinnati for voting issue 48 down, and for electing so many pro-streetcar candidates to city council. I think it shows that the city is headed in the right direction, and is actually going to do something bold for a change. Cincinnati needs to compete with other cities, and although I think Cincinnati already stacks up quite well already, the streetcar will be a welcome addition.

(and all of this coming from a republican from the suburbs!)

 

So congratulations everyone, you all deserve it!!!

Great work you guys!!!

Solid work..

 

Now lets get this MFing streetcar under construction already before Smitherman starts collecting signatures again!

BTW, Chris Finney was lurking around the No on 48 party on the sidewalk outside Arnold's...he was interviewed by the various TV and radio stations that covered the victory party.  This guy is an evil genius. 

Thank GOD I took off work tomorrow.  I'm going to need to switch from beer to liquor REALLY soon.

 

Ditto!  :drunk:

 

 

It was an incredibly exhaustive yet exciting day. The council results were icing on the cake. So very proud of Cincinnati tonight!

Thank GOD I took off work tomorrow.  I'm going to need to switch from beer to liquor REALLY soon.

 

Ditto!  :drunk:

 

 

It was an incredibly exhaustive yet exciting day. The council results were icing on the cake. So very proud of Cincinnati tonight!

 

I didn't....I'm going to be an absolute train wreck tomorrow

Can anyone explain why Issue 9 failed by a larger margin than Issue 48?  I definitely think that 48 was MORE damaging than 9.

 

I was just discussing this with a friend and I think the big thing was how much longer the campaign seemed to go on. Even before the ballot initiative for Issue 9 was a done deal signature wise, CFP was established and preparing for it to actually happen. I think there was a lot of doubt that Smitherman would go at it again and even then be successful with getting another issue on the ballot. Things ramped up once he did. Even COAST, until Smitherclown had signatures, didn't seem prepared for another ballot run (did they even have signs this year?).

 

The other thing seemed to be who was on the radio. 700 WLW is a big (yet often stupid) voice. Last time you had Cunningham vocally against Issue 9 calling Smitherman a "clown." This time he has Smitherman on ALL THE TIME. You also had more reasonable talking heads (McConnel and even Sloan who had his own show at the time). Now you can tune in at almost anytime and whether it's Amazon or Cunningham, the views are the same.

Here's a video I made of Mallory's victory speech:

 

^ Wow, Jake, that's one for the record.

Well done, everybody. We killed Issue 48 and got a pro-streetcar supermajority on City Council. Now let's build this thing.

Congrats and thank you to everyone who worked hard to defeat issue 48!! It's a good day to be a Cincinnatian! Who Dey!

When are we breaking ground?

I can't imagine better news.  Can't wait to see this thing proceed.

I fell asleep watching election coverage but just woke up to check this page... Congrats on defeating #48 and for electing a pro-streetcar supermajority on council. Now let the streetcars roll!!

Let's go for the gusto now, Cincy--build it AND THEY WILL COME!  Congratulations all!

>I can't imagine better news.

 

I can -- I'm very worried that this slim defeat will embolden COAST to assemble yet another petition drive next year and that Smitherman will bog down the process while on council, will have his leg humped by Barry Horstman, etc., and will continue to make this project vulnerable to being scuttled. 

 

Look at it from their perspective -- they can just keeping whining about the streetcar and they're assured several radio spots per week.  They'll make stuff up and never bee called for it since the media, five years into this, STILL doesn't understand the game they play. 

^By that time construction will be well underway.

>I can't imagine better news.

 

I can --

 

Exactly.  It always bothered me that Issue 9 was defeated by a rather small margin, and Issue 48, which is MUCH WORSE legislation, was even more close.  Yes it's a relief and we can finally put this hurdle behind us, but there's still a long and bumpy road ahead.  The project is vulnerable even if construction is finished but operations aren't started.  Hell, even if it IS operating, it's still vulnerable. 

>Hell, even if it IS operating, it's still vulnerable.

 

They want nothing more than a half-finished project, and they will spend every waking hour working toward that end.  There will be several more razor-thin showdowns. 

>I can't imagine better news.

 

I can -- I'm very worried that this slim defeat will embolden COAST to assemble yet another petition drive next year and that Smitherman will bog down the process while on council, will have his leg humped by Barry Horstman, etc., and will continue to make this project vulnerable to being scuttled. 

 

Look at it from their perspective -- they can just keeping whining about the streetcar and they're assured several radio spots per week.  They'll make stuff up and never bee called for it since the media, five years into this, STILL doesn't understand the game they play. 

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think we have much to worry about from Smitherman.  His only ally on council is winburn.  Those two won't be able to get anything crazy passed without some help from the rest of the council who are decidedly pro-streetcar, except maybe Sittenfeld who seems like he might flip-flop on the issue.  Sure they can throw fits and stomp their feet and cry a little about this and that, but they won't be able to do anything on their own.  We have a prostreetcar majority right now and we're only months away from construction beginning.  If ever there were a time to celebrate this project its now!