If the referendum is about TransLink, or just which particular tax is the least obnoxious, the referendum results in a big ‘no.’ But if it’s about the future of this region, its economy and whether we’ll get the transit we need for the future we want, then maybe there’s a chance.
So, in contrast to the Soft Strategy, the idea is to go big.
The campaign would focus, on one hand, at conveying the impact If the vote is no: we all lose, and the hurt will be hard. A choice of “None of the Above” means no more transportation choices. No more rapid transit but lots more congestion. A loss of economic opportunity and jobs, for both the region and the province. Little hope that anything will change for the better in the governance of our transportation system.
On the other, accompany the negatives with some big positives: a commtiment to increased efficiency in the system, a change of governance, a cut in other taxes (that might be the Province’s contribution!) – and the result could be a big ‘yes.’
But we’re staking it all on this one vote.
I agree with you here (or maybe this is you agreeing with me) that the way to win this is to go big. In order to vote for something, you have to have something to vote for. But I don’t agree with a previous commentator that we need to keep quite about things like climate change. Not at all. That is something that plenty of people have their heads in the sand about, but the heads are coming out. People are feeling less hopeless about this, and a transit plan might make people feel even better about doing something.