Wednesday, July 12, 2006 | Contrary to your article, I’ll bet the Chamber of Commerce backs the Miramar civilian airport. My recent experience makes me think it’s a slam dunk.
I made four presentations to the Chamber of Commerce this spring – representing the “no” position on the June statewide $600 million library bond measure. I spoke to three different committees and then to the general governing body.
The first committee decided not to take a position, seeking more information. The second committee voted against the bond. The third committee (each committee consisted of about 20 people) voted even more strongly against the measure (15 to 6).
However, when I presented the same arguments to the governing body, they quickly voted 26 to 5 in favor of the bond issue. They completely ignored the more detailed study of their three committees and the resulting votes.
Why? From what I could see, the governing body is made up of people who supported the Charger ticket guarantee – especially backers of the construction industry. The Chamber of Commerce’s de facto position is that any government tax or bond that results in the issuance of construction contracts merits automatic support. To my knowledge, our “conservative” Chamber of Commerce has never voted against any measure that included building contracts.
I’m convinced that if the government wanted to issue bonds to dig a gigantic hole in the ground and then simply fill it back up, the Chamber of Commerce (along with our labor unions) would eagerly back the plan as a profit center for businesses and their employers.
Mark my words. The Chamber will back the Miramar project – billions of dollars of construction contracts will sway the vote.