San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed pulled his proposal to get the A's stadium plan on the November ballot.
That's the official headline of the press release from Reeds office.
The real headline just might come one line below. It says that Reed "hints that a decision on territorial rights may come in time for a spring vote."
Getting the rights to build a stadium for the A's in San Jose is seen as the biggest hurdle in the plan.
Right now the San Francisco Giants have the territorial rights to San Jose and it would take an act of team owners to change it. Giants owners say no way, and have many good arguments, including the fact that its minor league team, the San Jose Giants, already play in San Jose.
Up until now, MLB appears to be dragging its feet in discussing the idea. In the end Reed won big in the latest game between his city and Major League Baseball.
"I pursued a November election because I believe the citizens of San Jose deserve to have their voices heard," Reed said Wednesday.
Reed's decision comes a day after Major League Baseball President Bob DuPuy agreed to help cover the taxpayer cost if a special election is required in the spring.
A's owner Lew Wolff praised Reed for his "gritty determination."
"We appreciate the strong leadership of both the Mayor and Commissioner Selig," Wolff said. "We look forward to a final decision from the Commissioner, and will vigorously pursue an election next year if that decision is a positive one."
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Reed said Tuesday that Major League Baseball made the offer to pay the cost of a possible special election.
Last week, Reed threw down the gauntlet when he announced he wasn't going to wait any longer on MLB to decide whether San Jose could get the rights to the Oakland A's. He said he was putting the issue on the ballot even while he waited on that decision.
Some say Reed played a perfect political game in the past few days. They say he got MLB to put the stadium issue back on its front burner and he got them to commit to pay for a ballot initiative, which will save San Jose big money.
