Issue 22 analysis: The 3 reasons Cincinnatians voted to sell their railroad
Voters decided Tuesday to sell Cincinnati's railroad, surprising even those involved in the campaign.
In the weeks leading up to the vote on Issue 22, which allows the Cincinnati Southern Railway board to sell the railroad to Norfolk Southern for $1.6 billion, supporters feared the ballot measure would fail.
But in the end, the sale eked out a win with nearly 52% of the vote, according to unofficial results.
Sale proceeds will be used to create a trust, from which the investments will be used to improve city infrastructure.
Three opposition groups to the sale emerged in early fall, but they couldn't overcome the deep pockets of the campaign, the Democratic sample ballot and city residents' frustration with crumbling infrastructure, including the poor quality of streets.
Here's why voters said Yes on Issue 22
Money talks
Early campaign finance reports show the political action committee supporting the sale, Build Cincinnati's Future, spent $4.2 million on the campaign urging voters to approve the sale − the most money ever spent on a city campaign or candidate run. And that's not even the final spending amount. Anyone who votes in the city couldn't help but see a mailer or commercial, some of them featuring Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval. Roughly $3.9 million of the $4.2 million was spent on commercials alone. One mailer was eight pages, which outlined what the money would spent on.
"It seems like a good deal," Nick Defillippo, 30, of Hyde Park, said as he voted Tuesday.
Power of the Democratic sample ballot
The Cincinnati Democratic Committee voted to endorse the sale and put it on their sample ballot, which was passed out at nearly every polling location and mailed to voters' homes. The Democratic sample ballot proved powerful in the 2021 Cincinnati election, with eight of the nine endorsed Democrat council candidates winning, and this election reinforced the power of the sample ballot. Every council candidate endorsed by the Democrats won and that same sample ballot urged a "yes" vote on Issue 22. It likely helped that droves of Democratic voters came out to vote on abortion rights and legalizing marijuana.
Infrastructure fixes prompted yes vote
City infrastructure does need an overhaul ∸ a big one. The Enquirer reported earlier this year that Cincinnati Parks have maintenance needs of at least $70 million and city roads are worse than they were five years ago, despite almost $100 million in fixes. Cincinnati City Manager Sheryl Long put together a 10-year, $250 million spending plan and Cincinnati City Council members discussed and praised the plan.
Emily Wang, a 24-year-old resident of the Central Business District, voted for Issue 22, saying she was "for fixing the infrastructure."
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Why Cincinnati voters sold its railroad to Norfolk Southern Corp.
