“It’s NOT my job.” (Bravo.)
The first instinct of most politicians is to grovel and pander to voters — especially those with BIG bank accounts. THAT is not the case with Mecklenburg County commissioner Matthew Ridenhour (R). You see, one of the billionaire families behind NASCAR apparently wants some government help in bringing major league soccer (BARF!) to the Charlotte area.
The family went before the county commissioners, and Mr. Ridenhour was not impressed. Here he is getting heckled on Facebook for his skepticism about the deal:
*mic drop*
That is so funny! First, there is an alternative….no soccer for Charlotte. And second, he has the perfect response in that it is not a problem. Why should taxpayers (again) have to fund an endeavor for billionaires’ pet project of the moment. If it were to be actually profitable then Charlotte would have a team at the snap of their fingers.
As an update, the Mecklenburg BOCC voted today on the deal.
Commissioners Scarbourough (D), Clarke (D), Dunlap (D), Fuller (D), and Leake (D) voted in favor.
Commissioners Puckett (R), Ridenhour (R), and Cotham (D) voted against. Commissioner James (R) was in Florida for his brother’s funeral and voiced his disapproval by phone, but it’s not known whether remote voting is allowed. The proposal to give $43.75 million in Mecklenburg property tax revenue to the billionaire Smith family (of Speedway Motorsports) thus passed.
However, shortly afterward, Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts (D) announced that tomorrow’s City Council meeting to discuss and vote on the issue was cancelled, with no reschedule mentioned. Without the city’s contribution, the deal could be dead.
It’s worth mentioning that while the Meck BOCC isn’t up for re-election until 2018, the Charlotte City Council has an election THIS year. Coincidence? You be the judge.
None of these things are legitimate government business. Taxpayer money should never be given to wealthy businessmen to keep them from having to spend their own. Good for Matthew Ridenhour and the others who stood up against crooked dealing.
I don’t live in Mecklenburg yet what are they thinking? All the Dems and their #whiteprivilege??
Matthew has long been one of the good guys in the fight for good government. The other guy seems to be the exact opposite.
What happened to common sense? If the Smiths want soccer in Charlotte, they can pay for it, arrange some partnerships like the Carolina Panthers or sit down with their friends in the banking business. Or, they could cut anticipated expenses by playing the games in the NASCAR Museum. It would certainly hold the “crowds”.
That county commissioner should run for a higher office.
Just an FYI – the Smiths are not the billionaire family that owns NASCAR. That would be the France family.
Thanks for the edit.
From Matthew’s Facebook page today:
“This morning the BOCC approved the proposal to bring MLS to Memorial Stadium (Cotham, James, Puckett, Ridenhour opposed), which would bring the county, city, and team ownership together to build the soccer stadium. Shortly thereafter, the city of Charlotte announced it does not intend to pursue the deal.
In light of that announcement, I have inquired with the county attorney whether our resolution authorizing county staff to negotiate and sign a deal is still valid. I belive it is not, due to material changes to the deal. This is what I sent the county attorney (note: Exhibit A details the funding structure involving the city, county, and private funds):
“I have a question regarding the resolution which we passed this morning. The final (6th) paragraph states,
“Resolved, that the Board of County Commissioners intends to negotiate and enter into an agreement with the Club for construction of a replacement Memorial Stadium for use by the Club for a MLS franchised soccer team generally as described in the attached Exhibit A, an agreement with the City for City participation in funding the construction cost of the replacement Memorial Stadium, and such other agreements as might be necessary to accomplish this project, and authorizes and directs the County Manager and her staff to negotiate such agreements for consideration by the Board of County Commissioners.” [emphasis added]
Given the notice from the City of Charlotte this morning that the city will not pursue a partnership at this time for the purposes of landing an MLS team, it seems to me two things:
1. Exhibit A has materially changed. The lack of City participation significantly impacts the planned funding for construction costs, as detailed in Exhibit A.
2. The “agreement with the City for City participation in funding…” as written in in the 6th paragraph is no longer an option.
Thus, I believe that this resolution is now null. For the county to continue to pursue this project at Memorial Stadium, I believe we need a new resolution and funding structure, void of City participation, to be voted on at a future date. The current resolution and funding structure presented to and passed by the Board is no longer valid, due to material changes to both resolution and funding structure.
I welcome your insight.”
Stay tuned…”
Good for Mr. Ridenhour. Multimillionaires can afford to get out of the ‘free-cheese’ line and pay their own way. Or move to California, where they may be more welcome.
Fantastic Commissioner Matt, it’s time for some D county commissioners to be removed from office.