The latest sign of the apocalypse: The DMN editorial team now says that voting on the downtown convention center hotel is a good idea and suggests Mayor Tom Leppert and the city council should abide by the vote even if it goes against them.
The editorial picks up where Leppert left shakily left off after a debate with no-hotel leader Anne Raymond on KRLD radio last week (visit the pro-hotel website here). The DMN’s Dave Levinthal tried to get Leppert to say definitively whether a vote against the hotel would kill the deal. Leppert hemmed and hawed before finally saying "I think" it would.
The DMN’s editorial urged Leppert and the council to sack the deal if Dallas residents vote "yes" May 9 on the proposed referendum blocking the city from funding the hotel: "The mayor and the City Council should abide by the voters’ decision on the hotel question. Just as citizens had a say in whether to build American Airlines Center and whether to pursue the Trinity River project, they should have a voice in this important decision"
Curiously, the same editorial called the council’s attempted rush to construction earlier this year, which was thwarted solely by a sour bond market preventing the council from authorizing funding the begin hotel construction, an "ace in the hole" Leppert originally was relying on. Now, what little I know about playing cards is that an "ace in the hole" is a good thing, while winning a race to start building the hotel before voters could have a say doesn’t seem like holding a winning hand to me. But hey, given what seems like a seismic change in the DMN’s position with this editorial, I guess I shouldn’t be quibbling with the rationale…
