MAPS 4EVER is officially a go.
Earlier this week, the Oklahoma Supreme Court rejected a bid by local town contrarian Ed Shadid to shelve MAPS 4EVER on the grounds that it violated the "single-subject rule" in the Oklahoma Constitution.
Here are details via The Oklahoman:
The Oklahoma Supreme Court has rejected former Ward 2 Councilman Ed Shadid's bid to scuttle MAPS 4.
In a 10-page ruling issued Monday, the high court said Oklahoma City's MAPS 4 ordinance is constitutional.
The unanimous decision by Justice Douglas Combs says the ordinance "does not violate the single-subject rule found in the Oklahoma Constitution," nor does it violate state statute or the city's charter.
Yeah, you know that $900-million, all-or-nothing plan put together by the ruling class that includes 16 different projects of varying size, cost and scope? It all covers just one subject.
Here's what Mayor McSelfie – a conservative who is employed by a company that greatly benefits from taxpayer-funded MAPS projects – had to say about the ruling...
Mayor David Holt commended the justices "for moving swiftly and for upholding the rule of law."
"Now we look toward Dec. 10 and the opportunity to continue our city’s remarkable renaissance,” Holt said.
I know Holt is an overly cheery, feel-good dude who relies heavily on cliches and positive talking points to get his message across, but does he really think OKC is still in a renaissance?
That card is tough to play when the symbol of that renaissance – the Devon Tower – is glutted with empty floors, and has plywood covering broken windows. If you ask me, the OKC Renaissance started winding down in 2011 when the natural gas industry started to tank. You know, back when Kings of Leon was still a popular and relevant band.
And even if we are still in a renaissance, I don't see how MAPS 4EVER will keep it moving forward. There's not one project in that mix that I'd describe as truly transformative. Hell, the biggest project is a $115-million refurbishing of our sardine can Chesapeake Arena, which equates to spending $10,000 to fix up a 1998 Honda Civic. Even if you get Michelangelo to paint the exterior, there's nothing renaissance about that.
Anyway, we'll have more about MAPS 4EVER on this site over the next couple of months. I'm not necessarily against it, but I'm not enthusiastically for it either. Maybe I should figure out a way to make money on it to help swing my opinion.
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