Having attended some of the community meetings that have been held all across the county for the last few weeks, we are not surprised at the widespread opposition to the Music City Center. The fact is that the more people learn about the MCC project's cost, the risk to taxpayers, and the nosedive that the convention industry is taking, the more they are opposed.  Part of that opposition may have to do with the unwillingness of the Dean Administration to offer solid guarantees that local workers will be hired to do the work and that minority-owned businesses receive their fair share of contracts.

We call on the Mayor to let the people decide on this by a referendum vote. The Music City Center will be the largest, most expensive public project in the history of the city and the voters deserve to be heard on this at the ballot box. We urge all concerned citizens to sign the petition to put the Music City Center up for a vote by the people.

One of the most intriguing findings from the poll reveals that the Mayor and councilmembers - who will be up for re-election next year - are taking a major political risk by supporting the Music City Center. Among those who are against the MCC, 87% say they’d be less likely to re-elect a politician who votes for it on Jan. 19. We are quickly approaching a point where voting for the Music City Center may mean a one-way ticket out of elected office for a lot of people.

We think the results of this poll speak for themselves and, just like Davidson County voters, SEIU will be paying close attention to which councilmembers vote for the Mayor's billion dollar boondoggle on Jan. 19.