As the decision over the HERO petition jostles through the courts, a new debate has arisen in media… should the ordinance be subject to a vote of the people?  Yesterday Clifford Pugh, Editor-in-Chief at CultureMap Houston, penned a response saying that Houstonians should be able to vote on the measure.  Knowing that I disagree, Mr. Pugh allowed me to write an opposing view on the subject.  Check out the excerpt below…

One must admit that “Let the people vote” is a nice-sounding argument. Voting, at least in contemporary democracy, is the way we choose our representatives in government, and it is often the way we choose how to allocate public money for certain uses. In recent years Houstonians have weighed in on the fate of the Astrodome, the usefulness of red light cameras, funds to rebuild city infrastructure and whole host of other topics.

These are issues that deserve a vote.

But the Astrodome, beloved or hated as it may be, is not a person. It wasn’t guaranteed the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It doesn’t think, it doesn’t feel, and it doesn’t become disenfranchised. These are experiences that belong solely to people, and under the Constitution of the United States of America, people have rights above and beyond subjection of public opinion…

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