Save the Dinky does not endorse candidates. However, there are clear differences between the Democratic candidate and the Republican candidate on the Dinky issue.
The Democratic candidate, Yina Moore, is a professional planner, with extensive experience in transit planning and policy. She takes the position that the proposal to move the Dinky is bad public policy because it will discourage pedestrian users and encourage more commuters to get to the Junction by automobile. In the debate sponsored by the League of Women voters, she stated that the question for the public should not be whether the University has a right to move the Dinky but whether it is the right thing to do. She would continue to work to persuade the University to change its mind. She believes the University can build the arts campus with the Dinky in its current location.
The Republican candidate, Jill Jachera, is a former employment law attorney who now counsels employers. She does not believe that anyone wants the Dinky moved. In an October 4 statement to Borough Council, she argued that the public may desire the terminus to stay where it is but said that there is a difference between desires and rights and that the public should accept that the University has a right to move it. In the LWV debate, she indicated her view that if the University does not get its requested zoning for the arts campus the University will move the station anyway. In this worst case scenario, the public would lose the current Dinky location and would lose the arts campus. She worried that continued resistance to the University’s campus plans will annoy the University and may impair negotiations for their voluntary contribution to the Borough. She would embrace the MOU and work on the study of alternative mass transit options to Nassau Street.
For a fuller statement of the two candidates views, see the verbatim transcript of answers given at the League of Women Voters debate and also see the written answers given to League question that can be found under the post “Mayoral candidates respond to League of Women Voters’ question about A&E District and the Dinky” Information can also be found on the candidates’ websites.