Poor roads all the reason to vote yes

Seems a trip to just about anywhere in town is a test of my car's suspension and my own vertebrae. For that reason alone, I'm planning to vote yes to extend the local-option sales tax for the benefit of city streets.

More important, I believe a vote yes for the sales tax is a vote yes for our community's future. The current sales tax has allowed us to recover more quickly from the disasters of 2008. It has helped restore the lives of citizens and rebuild important institutions. It has contributed to a positive outlook and a shared momentum that I witness almost daily in my colleagues, friends, and neighbors.

We need to continue that momentum by investing in a basic, but important infrastructure: streets. By extending the sales tax, we can accomplish this without increasing current property taxes and by spreading the responsibility more equitably across all users. And, I don't think anyone would begrudge us the money we might save on realignments - auto or otherwise.

Doug Elliott

Cedar Rapids