Tax Increase Did Not Make it to Ballot

Does something smell fishy in Gentry?
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Gentry voters were surprised to find that a vote on a tax increase did not appear on their ballots. The Mayor says that the paperwork to put it on the ballot was "lost in the mail".

A less trusting reader of The Watch believes that the oversight was deliberate- that is the Mayor knew that the tax increase would not pass in a Presidential year vote where more people were voting. The idea is to wait and have a "special election" where the tax increase is the only issue on the ballot. Those few who stand to benefit from the proceeds of the tax increase are motivated to vote. The many whose pockets are being picked are only losing a little money each, so they are less motivated to go vote against the tax increase.

Waiting and having a special election where a highly motivated special interest can skew the vote is a favorite tactic of big government types. Whether or not that happened here, we can't say. At any rate, to avoid any appearance of impropriety Gentry should wait until the 2010 regular election to re-submit the proposal.