Local News
Group opposed to MAPS 3 tax rallies as vote nears
OKLAHOMA CITY — Kevin Stoneking acknowledges the original Metropolitan Area Projects proposal, and its sequel, did wonderful things for Oklahoma City. But with the economy in a recession, the firefighter believes now is not the time to again extend the MAPS tax.
Stoneking joined about 100 people at City Hall on Tuesday to protest the $777 million MAPS 3 proposal, which would be funded by the continuation of a temporary 1-cent sales tax and is set for a Dec. 8 vote. About a dozen counter-demonstrators stood among the protesters, holding signs supporting the proposal.
The MAPS 3 plan includes a new downtown convention center, a 70-acre downtown park, a downtown streetcar system, bicycle trails, sidewalks, senior centers and improvements along the Oklahoma River.
Wearing a sweatshirt with the words "Not This Time, Mick" — a jab at Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett, the leading proponent of MAPS 3 — Stoneking said that while he favored previous MAPS proposals, the city's infrastructure and public safety needs now should be the primary concerns of city leaders.
"There's no denying the good that MAPS has done," Stoneking said. "We have been strong supporters of MAPS. But not right now. Not this one. Not the way this one is being done. The city infrastructure can't keep up with the growth" of the city.
Cornett later told The Associated Press that "it absolutely is the right time" for MAPS 3 and said the Oklahoma City is one of the few large cities in the U.S. "that has the reputation to even attempt something like this" during the recession.
"I don't think there's a better time to invest in the jobs, in the quality of life in the future, than right now," Cornett said. "This is about creating jobs for our kids and our grandkids and the future of the city."
The first MAPS proposal, approved in 1993, transformed downtown Oklahoma City, paying for construction of a new arena where an NBA team now plays, a baseball stadium and a canal that helped convert an aging warehouse district into an entertainment destination. Voters approved a "MAPS for Kids" proposal in 2001 to improve Oklahoma City schools.
The temporary tax was continued in March 2008 when voters approved extending it for 15 months to pay for improvements to the Ford Center arena and construction of a practice facility for the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder.
Former state Rep. Porter Davis, spokesman for a coalition known as KillTheMapsTax.com — which led Tuesday's rally — said local citizens and businesses could use the stimulus that would come from letting the MAPS tax expire. He said the public debate has been one-sided in favor of Cornett and civic leaders who are promoting MAPS 3 through television and radio commercials.
"I think it's time the citizens are represented a lot better than they have been," Davis said. "This is a people's issue and we need to get that information out."
Davis said his coalition of conservative, constitutional and citizen groups believes in limited government. One protester at the rally, Thomas Kiene, carried a "Don't Tread On Me" flag.
"They've gone way beyond their bounds and I'm fed up with them," Kiene said of city officials. He said he's opposed all the MAPS proposals.
Cornett said despite the opposition, he expects voters to approve MAPS 3.
"The feedback that I get from citizens is that they like MAPS, and they don't like all forms of taxation," Cornett said. "They don't like everything that government is doing for them. But this is the type of government they like."
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