Tax backers plan aggressive campaign
by GREG GARLAND - Advocate (excerpt)

With last year’s razor-thin loss of a nearly $1 billion tax election still fresh in their minds, Mayor-President Kip Holden and an array of Baton Rouge business leaders are launching a vigorous campaign to win voter approval the second time around on Nov. 14.

Backers say they plan to raise $400,000 to $500,000 — similar to what was collected and spent last year — for a campaign that will include radio, television and print advertising, focus group message-testing and other elements that go into a political campaign. They say they also will draw on the efforts of volunteers with grass-roots groups such as Progress Is, composed of young professionals, and on public speeches by Holden and other key players on the merits of the tax issue. “When you look at the total package, it’s something that’s going to take us to the next level,” Holden said. “We can’t get by with the status quo.”

While many business people and others are lining up behind the bond issue, it hasn’t been without controversy. Critics say the bond issue should have been split so residents could vote on public safety and infrastructure improvements separately from the Alive and downtown development projects. But no significant, organized opposition to the tax package has emerged.