37% vote for higher taxes to build unnecessary schools in Duluth

I’m pretty astonished with that result. As regular readers of this blog know the Duluth School District spent two years sandbagging Plan B, postponed it until it was at best irrelevant and a godawful expensive joke, spent thousands making sure people understood that it was a joke and then got to tack language on the Plan B ballot exaggerating its cost during a Tea-Bagger, election-year frenzy.

Furthermore the pro Plan B side admitted it was irrelevant in no more than three letters to the editor. That was the extent of the pro Plan B campaign. Under these circumstances I expected no more than a ten percent protest “yes” vote. Instead, damn near 40% of voters read the language explaining an increase in taxes, knew the plan was dead on arrival and took the hint to vote for it as a protest vote anyway.

Of the 63% who voted against Plan B today you can be sure that a significant share of them would have supported it two years ago when it was a viable and modest alternative to JCI’s Red Plan gravy train.

That, sadly, is the closest we will come to a referendum on the Red Plan. Congratulations Dr. Dixon. Buon appetito!

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