Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati

There are some rumblings around town—a great many people, in fact, from all across the political spectrum, who are not sure if increased government spending should be dedicated to a very short streetcar loop so people in river-front condos can socialize without having a car.  Is this really the most pressing issue facing the City?  Is this really what it means to serve the citizens of Cincinnati?  Do residents of College Hill care if The Banks hooks up with OTR?

A vocal minority, backed by business interests and politicians, have insisted that Cincinnati needs a streetcar.  And if anyone dares to pause, to question, or to critique the concepts—these victims are attacked viciously by the streetcar advocates, who would love nothing more than to watch their property value increase on the backs of the rest of the City.

But I have seen the writing on the wall.  I have seen the writing.

Yes, brother and sisters, I see a day coming.  A day when Westside whites and Avondale blacks join arms in solidarity against the fast track to a streetcar train wreck.  I see an unlikely coalition derailing business efforts to spend taxpayer money on a big dollar item that will only benefit the few.  I see a new day coming in Cincinnati.

I see a new Cincinnati emerging.  A Cincinnati where citizens have learned how to organize, how to ignore differences to focus on similarities.  A Cincinnati where the big money influence of special interests no longer rolls all over the spirit of the regular folks.  You know who I mean—not the ones with expensive downtown condos, nor the ones with big pockets for the politicians, nor the people who are friends with the well-connected.  Just regular people—some richer, some poorer—but all sharing that desire to see a City shaped by their interests, the interests of the people.

The politicians continue not to put people first.  I think the time is coming when the people have decided to cut in line.  And I think the streetcar line is the next one on the list.

Thank you for reading (and printing from) The Cincinnati Beacon.