Hamilton County GOP opposes red light cameras

The Hamilton County Republican party this morning announced they opposed Cincinnati's plan to add red light cameras at intersections - a move the city hopes will add $1 million to city coffers.

From the Hamilton County Republican party this morning:

On May 15, 2008, the Hamilton County Republican Party Policy Committee met at Party Headquarters to discuss the issue of Red Light Cameras. The Committee voted unanimously to oppose the placing of Red Light Cameras in the City of Cincinnati and to support the referendum and petition drive to place this issue on the fall ballot. Simply put, the Hamilton County Republican Party opposes Red Light Cameras.

The Policy Committee looked carefully at the issue and considered both sides of the argument. After a thorough review and discussion, the committee found the cameras to be an unnecessary revenue generating program that unnecessarily intrudes in the lives of taxpayers and provides very little due process to protect the innocent.

Statement of Chairman Alex Triantafilou

“I am pleased that our Policy Committee unanimously voted against Red Light Cameras and in favor of a referendum to place this issue before the voters. Red Light Cameras are simply designed to drive up revenue on the backs of unsuspecting drivers and the proposal lacks some of the necessary due process safeguards that we should all expect under our Constitution. The Committee found no connection between public safety and these cameras and found that in many instances, the cameras caused “rear-end” collisions as drivers panicked to stop. Our Party urges citizens to support the petition drive to place this issue before the voters and to reject this unnecessary government intrusion.”

For more details on the Party’s position, visit http://hcrp.blogspot.com/.