About That Referendum

Relocation opponents and out-of-town editorial writers like to continually bring up the 2004 non-binding referendum on airport relocation. Never mind that only about 20,000 Bay County voters bothered to show up to vote. Never mind the referendum was held in conjunction with the Democratic Presidential primary. Bay County’s GOP voters had no reason to go to the polls that day.

But here’s the real point. The non-binding referendum was held before the FAA had completed its analysis and made its recommendation. When the referendum was held in March 2004, Bay County’s citizens did not have all the objective information they needed to make a judgment about the airport.

They didn’t know that the FAA would say maintaining the status quo at the existing airport is “not reasonable, feasible practicable or prudent.”

The people who did vote did so without the essential analysis they wound need to make an intelligent and informed judgment. Because voters didn’t have the information they needed, it’s my opinion the results of the referendum carry no weight.