I never had a horse in that race but I never thought the monorail, as proposed, was a terribly good idea. The original line would have served far too little of the city to justify the expense. (I also didn't appreciate their radio ads claiming the monorail would reduce car traffic when even to the casual observer that was ridiculous.)
Perhaps the voters were more turned off by the poor management of the project than anything else: significantly over budget and significantly under funded. They chose not to throw good money after bad. I never had confidence in the SMP because I didn't believe most of their claims of the monorail's effect and their counterarguments to competing projects.
Something needs to be done. I don't claim to know what it is. I think a monorail could work with a better plan. For starters a route that services more than 10% of the population. Light rail could work as well, it does in many other cities. But all those proposals sucked as well.
When I left Seattle last summer I wondered if I was making a mistake. Things had been good for me there. I haven't missed the place once since I left. (Although I desperately miss the four Half-Price Books stores in the area.)
Man, Shelbyville's going to be PISSED.