Late last night council member Angela Hunt posted to her blog a note concerning the vote in favor of the convention center hotel. Therein, she extends the olive branch and vows to make 'er work, because, well, that's what 43,382 people demanded:
The voters of Dallas have spoken and settled the matter. After assessing the risks, a majority of voters decided that the potential benefits of a city-owned hotel outweigh the risk to taxpayers. The City of Dallas will now finance, construct, and own a convention center hotel.
As we move forward with the construction of this hotel, we must make sure that its financial success is our number one goal, and that taxpayers are not required to make up any cost overruns or revenue shortfalls. We must also be diligent to ensure that the ancillary economic development promised along with the hotel materializes and enhances our tax base. And finally, we must make sure that the hotel has sufficient connectivity to the rest of downtown so that all areas of our city center may benefit from its construction.
