From:
Matkrug <Matkrug@aol.com>
Date sent:
Wed, 15 Apr 1998 22:31:58 EDT
To:
wfeagin@templejc.edu
Subject:
Stage 4
boundary="part0_892693918_boundary"
Just in case my file doesn't download I pasted it below. My file is a
word 5.0
document. So who knows what will happen. Thank You.
****************************************************************
The process of initiating a public bus system in Bell County will
take a
three-year time span of carefully planned out tactics through the
coordination
of state and county government.
We waited until January of the next election year to get the word
out about
the bus system to officials seeking positions in the senatorial
government
seats. We did this to get the senatorial district candidates aware of the
push
to gain public transportation in their district. We showed the
candidates, for
both male and female positions, that public has a favorable opinion of a
bus
system. We were met with some opposition, however, in the midst of our
media
campaign.
Car dealerships had joined together to try and sway public opinion
away from
the bus system. We found a case of dealership fraud in which dealerships
were
taking advantage of the elderly in new car purchases. We used this
information
to discredit the dealerships in news reports and news stories on local
print
and television media. This dramatically changed the way people saw car
dealerships. It also swayed the public to grasp the idea of riding a bus
rather than purchasing a new car in fear of being taken advantage.
With the publicity the case gave us in the news media, we took
advantage of
it and wrote numerous letters to the editor to local newspapers talking
of the
need of a public transportation system for things such as economic and
environmental reasons. The word got out so well that newspapers started
covering the issue on their own making the public more aware of the
issue.
By the time elections came around in November, senatorial
candidates were
aware of the dire need for a bus system in their respective district for
which
they were running. We managed, through our previous media exploitations,
to
introduce the issue of a bus system as a platform for which the
candidates
ran.
Once elections were over and the candidates which endorsed the bus
system
were in office, the next step was to be done by the senatorial
representatives
in our district. They introduced legislation for a county wide Transit
Authority to be put on the ballot for the next election year to be passed
as
an amendment to the Texas State Constitution.
After delegates discussed and accepted the idea for a Transit
Authority, they
then sent it to the Central Texas Council of Governments where
confirmation
from the participating cities would have to vote yes or no.
All the cities involved enthusiastically voted for the Transit
Authority
later that same year in June. There was one city that didn’t want a
Transit
Authority and voted down the idea. But the rest of the cities voted yes.
The
argument was that business would be lost in their community to other
larger
communities. The larger cities in the county said that the bus system
does not
have to go through their city if they do not want it.
Once the county government passed the issue, it was sent back to
the state
government to be put on the next electoral ballot where it would be voted
on
by the people.
As the third year began we started to increase our efforts on
getting the
word out on the Transit Authority referendum coming in the November
ballot. We
put ads in Central Texas papers while also purchasing billboard space
saying
‘vote for referendum 902.’ After polls were taken to see where the people
stood on the issue nearly two years later, we found that the opinion had
faded. We lifted our efforts with the help of the local newspapers. They
agreed to give the issue coverage in a favorable position. This helped us
to
sway public opinion toward an enthusiastic position for the bus system.
As October came along we beefed up our efforts handing out flyers
to people
at shopping malls and colleges encouraging them to vote for referendum
902.
On the day of the elections, members of our group went to the
ballot box and
voted for referendum 902, a public Transit Authority for Bell County to
implement a bus system. After the tally was taken we found out that the
referendum passed and officially became an amendment.