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Tyranny of the majority? Nope, tyranny of the minority?
I find it outrageous that 51 percent of the people can vote to deny a person the right to use their private property. In this case Virgil Morgan was screwed by the voters of Phoenix and prevented from selling his land to QuikTrip. Of course it not even 51 percent of the people in the city of Phoenix that screwed Virgil Morgan. It's 51 percent of the people who voted in this election, which is very small compared to 51 percent of the people that live in Phoenix. Phoenix voters reject QuikTrip, renew city's budget control by Emily Gersema - Aug. 30, 2011 11:41 PM The Arizona Republic Editor's note: Unlike other Valley municipalities, Phoenix does not provide a data feed on the latest vote tallies by precinct. Therefore, no updated figures are available. Phoenix voters have denied QuikTrip the chance to build a gas station near residents in an east Phoenix neighborhood. But voters renewed a "home rule" measure that lets the city set its budget without a state-mandated spending formula, preliminary election results showed Tuesday. On Proposition 2, opponents of the station outnumbered the supporters, a decision that favors the neighbors and the owners of a Chevron station opposed to the potential QuikTrip at 44th Street and Palm Lane. The vote bars the residential land from being rezoned for commercial use, and it stops the property owner, Virgil Morgan, from selling his land to QuikTrip. Morgan, who lives in Everett, Wash., did not return phone calls. Normally, issues like this don't make it on the ballot because of the signature requirements for a referendum. But neighbors earlier this year turned in around 10,000 signatures to overturn a decision last year by the City Council that would have permitted the QuikTrip. QuikTrip's campaign spokesman Ryan O'Daniel said he was disappointed with the initial results. He said it could affect many more businesses. "I'm concerned that this is going to set a precedent for all zoning decisions for businesses," O'Daniel said. Gordon Stoa, a neighbor in the area of the potential station, said Phoenix voters spoke up for the neighbors. "Fortunately, the people locally got this issue on the ballot," Stoa said. "People in the city of Phoenix said, 'Hey, vote no.' " Jason Rose, a spokesman for the Citizens Against Neighborhood Encroachment political-action committee, touted the campaign as a grass-roots fight by neighbors against QuikTrip, a Tulsa, Okla., corporation. Campaign-finance reports showed that the neighbors' campaign was bankrolled by a key stakeholder: the Takhar family of Paradise Valley, which owns a Chevron at McDowell Road and 44th Street and a trailer park next to it. By August, Gurvinder and Rajinder Takhar had spent more than $142,000 on the campaign. They denied it was an effort to quash competition and said it was instead an effort to keep QuikTrip honest and force the company to look somewhere else to buy property already commercially zoned. QuikTrip spent about $163,000 for its campaign. Company representatives have said they have not faced a voter referendum like it before. Proposition 1, meanwhile, passed easily. The issue is sent to voters for approval every four years. Its renewal allows Phoenix to spend whatever money the city earns in grants, taxes and fees. Phoenix voters have approved it eight times since 1981. |