Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Referendum Wolf?

Last night the debate over whether to hold a baseball stadium referendum began. On Monday, July 8, Richmond City Council is scheduled to vote yes or no. What follows is from a new piece I've written today on this issue. 

In 2009, in doing research to write about the baseball stadium controversy, I discovered that in 2005 Richmond’s city council had opted to hold a referendum about the location of a new baseball stadium. Then, for some reason(s), the same group of people subsequently decided to forget about that method of finding out what the voters wanted.

Looking back on all the squabbling since 2005, plus losing the R-Braves in 2008, and so forth, and I have to think that if an advisory referendum had actually been held eight years ago, we would probably be in a different place today. That was a lost opportunity. 

 To read the rest of this piece at the Fan District Slant click here.