A tight race for Initiative 1 bond

The fate of a statewide open space bond was too close to call by press time Tuesday night.

A Dan Jones & Associates exit poll was also predicting a tight finish, with 54 percent in favor of the bond and 46 percent against the $150 million bond that would pay to clean water, build parks, construct city buildings and preserve open space through a .05-cent sales tax increase.

Initiative 1, sponsored by Utahns for Clean Water, Clean Air & Quality Growth, would mean about $14 more a year in taxes for the average Utah family.

Maura Carabello, vice president of the sponsor group, said she was cautiously optimistic about the initiative passing and attributed the votes against the initiative to "last-minute naysayers."

"It's easy to cast doubt in people's minds," she said. "But if this doesn't pass, the citizens long term will see that we missed out on a huge opportunity."

But Mike Jerman, vice president of the Utah Taxpayer's Association, said if the initiative passes, it will be the result of a "campaign of misinformation" advertising bad tax policy as a "feel-good initiative."

"It's been terrible. They've been misleading people by telling them that if Initiative 1 doesn't pass, the environment is ruined," he said.

"What an outrage."

The 10-year bond would be distributed by the Quality Growth Commission, a 13-member board appointed by the governor. Though projects have to compete for funding, some money is already earmarked for certain projects, such as $16 million to improve water and air quality and $20 for wildlife conservation.

Up to $30 million is also allotted for building convention centers and other city buildings, funding that has drawn criticism from officials at the Utah Farm Bureau and the the Utah Taxpayer's Association, which say construction funds have no place in an open space initiative.

Even if the bond fails at the polls, former U.S. Rep. Jim Hansen said the support for the initiative has been a wake-up call to Utah legislators. Hansen, who spoke out against the initiative this month, said the Legislature likely will address open-space funding in their 2005 session.

"This has hit them like a two-by-four in the head," he said. "In my heart of hearts, Initiative 1 is not a bad idea. The theory of open land really makes sense, but this initiative isn't the way to do it."

If the bond does pass, Hansen said the struggle over open-space funding may just be starting because the Legislature will likely try to rework the initiative. A provision of the law that forces the state to essentially pay property taxes to local governments may also have to be addressed by the courts, he said.