SAN JOSE, Calif. (KCBS) _ San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed has decided to pull a measure off the November ballot for a baseball stadium that would be the new home for the Oakland A’s.
After deciding to put it on the ballot last week, he had an about-face, following meetings with Major League Baseball officials on Tuesday.
“I decided to honor the baseball commissioner’s request not to move forward with the ballot measure in November and I thank him for his offer to help us pay for a special election if that’s appropriate in the spring,” Reed said. “We’ll let the commissioner work through his process as he’s requested.”
The mayor said he remains optimistic on the prospect of bringing the Athletics to the South Bay.
“We know it’s a very popular measure. It would win in November, but I think we can wait until a special election,” said Reed.
The mayor will still be asking the city council to adopt a resolution of support for allowing the A’s to move to San Jose.
In a statement, A’s owner Lew Wolff said he’s grateful for the strong support the city of San Jose is giving the franchise.
Newsom Backs Giants
Meanwhile, Mayor Gavin Newsom says San Francisco shares the Giants view that preserving their territorial rights to Santa Clara County in essence preserves the financial health of the team and its economic contributions to the city.
“The Giants did something remarkable,” said Newsom. “They didn’t use any city subsidy to build the stadium. They’re making great progress and inroads to changing the entire dynamic of how stadiums are financed in this country and that has benefited a lot of municipalities that haven’t needed to take money from social services to pay off a stadium development. We want them to succeed, and we want this model to succeed.”
“We really appreciate Gavin Newsom’s voice of support,” said Giants spokeswoman Staci Slaughter. “Santa Clara County is one of the most critical counties for the San Francisco Giants, and the health and competitiveness of our team actually depends on that.”
She says they are working with Major League Baseball’s task force appointed to examine the rights issue.
