Streetcars "Under Fire"

The Cincinnati Enquirer ran two articles yesterday and today highlighting a new drive against the Streetcar System by the NAACP, Citizens Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST), WeDemandAVote and others. I'm not sure why the Enquirer felt it necessary to run two articles about this on two separate days, but it makes you wonder who they are looking out for.
Article 1 December 23, 2008
Aritlce 2 December 24, 2008
Regardless, the articles point out that these organizations are the same groups who were successful in blocking other city projects that they did not agree with in the past. They feel that the Streetcars are a waste of money and refer to them as "Choo-Choo Trains". They are trying to start a petition demanding that this issue be placed on the Nov. 2009 ballot so that it can be decided by popular vote.

We can not let this happen!

We already know that Hamilton county voters as a whole are against spending money on rail transit (Remember the Metro Moves Campaign?) because many of them are conservative, suburban dwelling people who have no interest in improving our City's urban core. Most of the opposition is ignorantly minded and overlooks all of the actual facts regarding the benefits of rail transit.
The streetcars are an investment in our city's urban core and are ESSENTIAL for making Cincinnati competitive for jobs, residents and new businesses. Our city's future well being depends on making the streetcars a reality.
Please take the time this week and next to send emails to our council members reminding them of how important the streetcar system is for our city and tell them how strongly you support their efforts to bring rail transit to Cincinnati.
Just copy and paste the links below to your email address book and start sending letters.
Our voices can have a HUGE impact on keeping the Streetcar Plan "on track."
Thank you for your cooperation!

City Council Emails:
david.crowley@cincinnati-oh.gov
laketa.cole@cincinnati-oh.gov
jeff.berding@cincinnati-oh.gov
chris.bortz@cincinnati-oh.gov
john.cranley@cincinnati-oh.gov
leslie.ghiz@cincinnati-oh.gov
chris.monzel@cincinnati-oh.gov
roxanne.qualls@cincinnati-oh.gov
cecil.thomas@cincinnati-oh.gov

City Manager Email:
citymanager@cincinnati-oh.gov