Rays Helping to Fund Rail Campaign

The Tampa Bay Rays have kicked in $50,000 to help fund Moving Hillsborough Forward, the grass-roots group campaigning to get a referendum on a rail tax passed this fall.

While the one-cent tax would be levied in Hillsborough County only, the Rays, who play in Pinellas County, see the referendum as an important issue.

"The development of a world-class transit system is crucial to the long-term economic vitality of the Tampa Bay region," team spokesman Rick Vaughn said in an email. "The Rays are proud to be one of the hundreds of companies and individuals throughout western and central Florida, who are united in this effort.”

Moving Hillsborough Forward reported nearly $1 million in fundraising this cycle, while TBO.com reports on some of the other major contributors to the campaign.