Do you know how the “Reform Agenda” started in San Diego?
In 2003, we had a Republican Mayor (Dick Murphy), several Republican Councilmembers, and the “Downtown Mafia” (Chamber, etc.) that either sat silent while Democrats pushed bigger government and tax hikes – or worse, actively supported it!
They said we couldn’t balance the budget without massive tax hikes. They said we couldn’t reform pensions.
The Reform Agenda started as a project to prove them wrong – with creative ideas, facts, figures, and plans.
You see, these Republicans lacked courage to stand their ground and lacked creativity to come up with bold solutions. The creative solutions ARE out there – if our Republican leaders care to look for them. I do not consider myself an expert on anything – but I know if I ask enough smart people for ideas that eventually good solutions will emerge. The San Diego Citizens’ Budget Plan, Roadmap to Recovery Plan, and Prob B Pension Reform Initiative were all developed this way – by getting people smarter than me to give the ideas.
So now we face the question: Do we lose the Chargers OR do we raise taxes and offer them a massive public subsidy? This is a false choice – one that exists because our elected officials have not led.
Here’s a starting point: this week I released a “No Tax, No Subsidy” Privately-Financed Stadium Plan. My hope is it will be a starting point for our elected officials (I’m looking at the Republicans!) to step forward and show some leadership.
View the plan at www.PrivateStadiumPlan.com
I believe we still have time even within the context of the Chargers’ Initiative to do these ideas. The Chargers could be convinced to replace their tax hikes and direct public subsidies with some of these ideas. But it will take leadership by our elected officials to get us to that point.
The lack of leadership on the Chargers issue and the pending SANDAG tax issue is rooted in a bigger, more serious problem.
The problem on the political center-right in San Diego is most have lost their commitment to the Reform Agenda. The political consultants salivate over their next retainer or commission check. Only the grassroots can force a correction. In the meantime, we must continue to challenge our own leaders by offering bold ideas rooted in conservative and market-based principles and hoping they will act.