Sales Tax Yes Rollout

Sales Tax "Yes For All" launches

Lost in the shuffle of yesterday's news alignment of the marriage and Fry rulings was the rollout by Yes For All, the broad coalition backing the May 5 sales tax vote. Business and labor leaders spoke at City Park .

“Many of us worked side-by-side filling sandbags and helping our neighbors last year," said committee co-chair Steve McGuire. "We hope to bring that same kind of spirit to our efforts to bring people to the polls to vote yes. It’s important that we all do our part so we don’t have to face that catastrophic situation again.”

“If every community and the county approve a local option sales tax this spring, we can coordinate efforts to repair last year’s damage, improve local infrastructure, and mitigate the effects of future floods,” said co-chair Sue Dvorsky, a teacher who's also vice chair of the Iowa Democratic Party.

“More than 250 businesses suffered direct loss in the 2008 flood. Many of these businesses flooded in prior years and do not have the financial resources to endure another natural disaster, said Iowa City Chamber of Commerce president Nancy Quellhorst."

Labor, seeing jobs in a tough economy as a plus to the rebuilding effort, is on the yes side as well. “Thousands of union families live, work and shop in the areas flooded in 2008," siad Iowa City Federation of Labor president Pat Hughes. "Had these projects been in place, many of these folks would have remained high and dry, thus reducing the impact on the entire community.”

While the Yes forces focus on cleaning up the river, Team No, "Ax The Tax" is making its big effort on an April 15 "Boston Tea Party" protest.