EDITORIAL: JAY NIXON AS CHEERLEADER?
NFL STADIUM
Editorial: On stadium, Nixon turns in his clipboard for pom-poms
18 HOURS AGO •
BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Our colleague Bernie Miklasz, award-winning sports columnist, put Gov. Jay Nixon’s role in the proposed new NFL stadium project in St. Louis in the proper perspective in a Feb. 13 column.
“Gov. Nixon fully engaged in the stadium,”
read the headline.
“In many ways,” Mr. Miklasz wrote, “the St. Louis stadium is Nixon’s last campaign.”
None of the stadium discussions get this far if Mr. Nixon doesn’t appoint Dave Peacock and Bob Blitz to work on the project, he continues. Mr. Nixon is involved in direct meetings with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, writes Mr. Miklasz. Indeed, he continues, NFL officials “appreciate Nixon’s willingness to take action, saying it is rare for the governor of a state to be so extensively involved this early in the process.”
This is the “Nixon in charge” argument. It is the one most definitely promoted by those close to the governor, and, indeed, the governor himself. Mr. Nixon flew to St. Louis in early June for a series of interviews with sports media,
telling Mr. Miklasz,
“I’m the governor of the ‘Show-Me State,’ so our commitment has got to be shown (to the NFL). And it will be.”
Until now. Now Mr. Nixon is acting like he’s governor of the “Who, me? State.”
Last week, in response
to a lawsuit brought by state lawmakers, including Sen. Rob Schaaf, R-St. Joseph, Rep. Tracy McCreery, D-Olivette, and Rep. Jay Barnes, R-Jefferson City, the governor’s lawyer, Attorney General Chris Koster, paints a different picture.
The lawsuit, with Mr. Barnes, an attorney, doing the legal work on behalf of his fellow lawmakers and the Missouri taxpayers he represents, simply argues that which is nearly impossible to deny: Mr. Nixon and the
Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authorityhave violated the law by spending millions of taxpayer dollars on the process of trying to build a new football stadium without any input from the public. No hearings. No votes. Nothing.
This is the most disappointing aspect of what is happening as city, regional and state leaders work behind the scenes to try to build a new NFL stadium for the Rams or some other team on the north riverfront property. There are plenty of good arguments to be made in favor of such a project. But at a time of limited funding for schools, roads, transit and other important public needs, there are plenty of arguments against the stadium, too.
But in a desire to put speed before public policy, Mr. Nixon and his pals are bypassing public debate entirely.
That is what makes his argument to dismiss Mr. Barnes’ lawsuit so significant.
In it, Mr. Koster argues that Mr. Nixon is but a bystander, nothing more than a cheerleader on the sideline, root, root, rooting for the home team.
“Plaintiffs allege nothing more than the governor’s use of the bully pulpit to advocate for the construction of a new stadium in St. Louis,” Mr. Koster’s staff argues in a brief seeking dismissal of the lawmaker’s lawsuit.
Compare that to the words in Mr. Miklasz’s column, or Mr. Nixon’s own words as he appeared in news conference after news conference, and interview after interview, putting himself front and center as the key force behind the stadium project.
Mr. Nixon is either the cheerleader or the coach. He can’t be both.
Sadly, this is a pattern for the governor. He is in charge when things are going well, But when an economic development project goes poorly, say the Mamtek plant in Moberly, for instance, which turned out to be nothing but a massive fraud,
Mr. Nixon changes his tuneand issues statements like this: “I don’t run the Department of Economic Development.”
The two legal battles over the future NFL stadium are more about process than they are whether one ultimately supports public funding for a stadium project.
In the city, the city of St. Louis, with the attempted support of St. Louis University law professor John Ammann and his students, are right to defend the 2002 law that calls for hearings and a public vote before money is spent on a new stadium project. This is especially true after the Post-Dispatch’s David Hunn
revealed this week that according to city budget records, the existing revenues from various sources don’t even cover the full debt of the convention center. These are the sorts of details that would come out in a public hearing.
In Cole County, state lawmakers are merely asking that state law be enforced. That’s not too much to ask.
And Mr. Nixon?
He’s standing on the sideline waving a pom-pom with one hand, begging taxpayers to look at him, while his other hand steals their credit card.
It’s not a pretty picture.
