The Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce on Monday threw its support behind the riverfront site for a new Reds ballpark.
In the first major endorsement the riverfront site has won, the chamber's board of trustees voted to urge Hamilton County voters to reject Issue 11, which would create a county charter to force any new ballpark to be built on the rival Broadway Commons site. The chamber cited three main reasons for its vote:
"The riverfront site makes a dramatic statement about the city and the region, and provides a greater payoff for the community. "The use of charter reform is not the appropriate way to accomplish stadium siting.
"There are better ways to impact the Broadway Commons area than with a baseball stadium."
"If Issue 11 is defeated, we finally can stop this divisive issue and its potentially escalating costs, and we can get on with it," said chamber President John Williams. "If the thing passes, we're going to be back in more uncertainty."
Broadway Campaign Manager Melisa Rottinghaus countered that in nearly 30 years, having a ballpark on the riverfront "has only developed one economy -- that's Northern Kentucky's."
"We would think the chamber of commerce would realize the riverfront does not develop Cincinnati's economy," she said, dismissing the endorsement as "strong-arming by the power-brokers."
The board of Downtown Cincinnati Inc., the marketing group of business people known as DCI, is expected to endorse a site Friday.
Every election year, the two major political parties court absentee voters by mailing literature to those most likely to vote by absentee ballot.
This year's Republican mailing features a letter from two of the GOP's stars: Gov. George Voinovich and Secretary of State Bob Taft.
The Democrats, however, are featuring Mary Ellen Withrow in their mailings.
Who is Ms. Withrow?
She's the U.S. treasurer.
Democrats think she has the power to persuade voters.
After all, many absentee voters are -- like Ms. Withrow -- older women.
The Campaign Notebook is compiled by staff of The Cincinnati Enquirer and runs Tuesday-Saturday.
