Kansas City needs a decent transportation system. The MAX is a step in the right direction, and it's great if you want to get from the Plaza to the downtown library, but what about the airport? What about the zoo? This city is spread out over a lot of land, and we are in dire need of an easy, effective way to get around.

  Light rails are electric railways with stations at ground level, on aerial structures, and in underground subways. Almost all of America's most prominent cities either have light rail systems in place or have plans to build them.

  A light rail in Kansas City would be convenient for everybody: people who don't have cars, people who have cars but aren't wealthy enough for a constant gas supply, people who want to avoid traffic and parking jams, environmentally conscious people who don't want to contribute to pollution, and tourists. In addition, a light rail would allow more people easy access to the urban core of the city, revitalizing its ghostly downtown area.

  KC's need for good public transportation has finally been realized by its citizens. On November 7, a ballot initiative to build a light rail system, surprising nearly everyone - those who voted for it and against it. Nobody expected the plan to pass, especially as the six light rail plans that had previously made it to the ballot all failed.

  The reason the previous six plans did not pass was Clay Chastain. No one likes that psycho. He's self-absorbed, he's delusional, he's just plain nuts - people don't even bother to come up with valid reasons to hate him anymore, and the idea of a light rail in Kansas City has been inexorably linked to Chastain in the collective mind of Kansas City.

  That's why we were astonished when Question 2 made the cut. Why did this plan pass, when all the others have failed? The most likely reason is that Chastain has moved away from the area. It's unfortunate that Chastain chose this particular election to leave, apparently breaking through a psychological block in the minds of KC voters.

That psychological block represents one of the largest problems with the way people vote. They vote for charisma, for charm, for the people instead of the issues. It's important to realize that there are very few politicians who do not have ulterior motives. Chastain is not a political candidate, but the principle is the same.

Shooting down past light rail initiatives because of Chastain's support for them has caused a sub-par plan to be passed. Better, more efficient plans for the light rail have been presented on past ballots. The latest proposal is financially unrealistic, logistically questionable, and includes an arbitrary gondola.

  However, looking on the bright side, even a proposal as inferior as this one is better than no light rail plan at all. Eventually, we hope that the plan will evolve into the beginnings of a good public transportation system.

Tell us what you think. Write Spectrum at editor@mcckc.edu.