DC Council Chair Linda Cropp - Soon to be the most hated woman in DC

Linda Cropp is trying to force in a private financing deal for the new stadium, part of the MLB deal for a new Washington baseball team, The Nationals:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/metro/20041216-113034-2371r.htm

Cropp claims that the private financing codicil is intended to reduce the risk to DC taxpayors, but that's crap. The Council and Mayor don't give a hoot about risk to taxpayers, and even if they did there's no more risk here than there is in building additional Metro stations in DC. Basebasll-starved fans in DC have been waiting over 30 years for a new team since the DC Senators went to Texas, as the Rangers, but Cropp is about to kill the deal.

No, this last minute 'private funding' debacle is not for the benefit of DC residents, it's a back-room deal being arranged in order to grease someone's pocket - seems pretty obvious it's Cropp. If MLB ultimately caves and goes along with this, watch for connections between the private financier and Cropp, she'll probably get one hell of a kickback on 140 million. Another potential reason is probably political - Cropp can run for mayor if she manages to get baseball in DC for 140 mil less than Mayor Williams was going to spend.

Either way, Cropp is endangering the entire deal for her personal benefit, I'm sure of it. When it comes out Cropp won't be able to run for anything in DC. In fact she'll most likely be running FROM DC, as fast as her portly pins can carry her. It's obvious that she thinks DC residents are stupid.

Or, it could be that she's only doing this for the attention, and has every intention of caving. It's still a good political club to use on Mayor Williams in the next election.

I don't expect MLB to cave - private financing for this deal is too risky for their taste. They can go to a dozen other cities around the country in a heartbeat - cities who WILL build a stadium with 100% public money for THEIR new team. Also, the article makes a good point - Cropp and the council, and Mayor Williams don't have a very good track record of finding private financers for DC projects. Pretty much a big fat goose-egg as a matter of fact. Cropp and Williams are probably asking for too big a piece of the pie.

Adios MF,

Doug