And this is where the referendum was first initially introduced. The vote was to take place on November 5, 2002, and had the referendum been passed it would have been enacted on July 1, 2003, the start of the new fiscal year.
There were many different people and groups involved in what became a statewide debate. First there was Mark Gardner, who introduced this idea while campaigning to become governor. There was also the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, which was created on July 1, 2002 by the Virginia General Assembly with this issue in mind. The transportation authority is in charge of developing a regional transportation plan, working with Northern Virginia's communities to develop regional priorities and policies to improve air quality, and serving as an advocate for the transportation needs of Northern Virginia before the state and federal governments. The Northern Virginia TCC also played a role in the evolution of the referendum by devising the Northern Virginia 2020 Plan. Also, the Republican controlled legislature in Virginia played a role in this by voting overwhelmingly to approve the sales tax referendum. Then you have residents of the four counties and five cities that are directly involved with the referendum, as well as the rest of the residents in the state who voted on the issue. The residents of Virginia are the most important people involved with this issue because they are the ones that vote on the issue; they would also have paid the taxes had the matter been passed. There were also various groups, such as the Sierra Club, who strongly voiced their opinions on whether the referendum should be passed or not throughout the entire process. .
The sales tax referendum was a very important issue for the entire state of Virginia. Many of the residents had complained for years that the conditions of the roads throughout Northern Virginia were terrible, and the complaint was not directed just to back roads but major interstate highways as well.