I have been giving a lot of thought recently to the MAPS 3 proposal to be voted on by Oklahoma City residents on December 8. This proposal is not a state legislative issue. As a candidate for the state legislature, with supporters, volunteers, and donors who have varying opinions, as well as district residents and potential voters who live in Bethany, Warr Acres or Woodlawn Park that will not be voting on the matter, there is a risk in taking a public position. However, it is a proposal that will affect the future of our region, economically and culturally. Much of the vision many residents of central Oklahoma have of a more progressive future requires investment in several of the projects that are proposed as part of MAPS 3.

I share the concerns of many who are hesitant to support or just outright oppose MAPS 3 because of our community’s need to maintain public safety. There are also legitimate questions about whether this is an investment we can afford right now, because of the lingering national recession.

Oklahoma City has recently received a lot of attention in national business press as a city that has withstood the recession better than most others, and a city that offers the best opportunity for new small businesses. This is in no small part due to the investment made by city residents in the original MAPS project, as well as MAPS for Kids. These investments have helped Oklahoma City become a major economic player in the region and the nation.

Part of the brighter future that we are looking to build includes investment in our transportation infrastructure to give our citizens safer roads and more alternatives, such as rail. MAPS 3 includes an investment in a modern streetcar for the downtown Oklahoma City area, which is a critical piece of a new rail future for central Oklahoma. Commuter rail from Midwest City, Edmond, Norman, and Moore will be useless if there is not a streetcar downtown that passengers can transfer to in order to reach their destinations.

Our new transportation future can be fueled in part by natural gas from right here in Oklahoma, which is good for our economy. Plus, rail projects in other cities have proven to spur investment in neighborhoods along the rail corridor. Other cities in the region, such as Dallas, Austin, Little Rock, Kansas City and Albuquerque have all begun investing in rail and are seeing great success. Now is not the time for Oklahoma City to stop the progress that got us this far.

Some of the proposed projects may not be ideal projects for every constituency in Oklahoma City, but overall the projects will benefit the entire region and continue to improve the quality of life in central Oklahoma. As someone who believes in the axiom that we should not let the perfect be the enemy of the good, I am supporting MAPS 3 and will vote “Yes” on December 8 to help build a brighter future for Oklahoma.