Fort Bragg City Council endorses Measure B on 4-1 vote

On Monday night, March 24, the Fort Bragg City Council accepted a recommendation from its Public Safety Committee and voted to endorse Measure B, which appears on the June ballot in Mendocino County.

Councilman Jere Melo made the motion, seconded by Dave Turner. Other "aye" votes were Dan Gjerde and Meg Courtney. The only dissent was from Doug Hammerstrom.

The vote came after substantial public comment that began with Lori Cimolino, who lives on Cedar Street in Fort Bragg. She described how a next door neighbor has been growing a large number of plants in the backyard, so many that she described it as a "crop." She stated that the "stench" prevented her family from enjoying their own backyard and caused another neighbor to move away. Things got worse when the marijuana grower got a vicious dog to defend the crop, and the dog repeatedly got loose and has attacked Lori twice. When Lori complained to a police officer who lived nearby, she was told that nothing could be done under present policy if the marijuana grower showed medical marijuana cards.

Numerous other Fort Bragg residents spoke in favor of Measure B, expressing concerns about the effect of rampant marijuana production on youth, on the image of the county, and other problems.

Only four people spoke against Measure B, including marijuana grower Paul Deeter and her teenage daughter.

Willits mayor Holly Madrigal and Ukiah councilman John McCowen also urged the Fort Bragg Council to act, and each predicted that their own councils would take up an endorsement soon.
Fort Bragg Council member and current mayor Doug Hammerstrom strongly opposed action. He used the bogus argument that has been advanced by the No On Measure B Coalition, that Measure B would hurt public safety by diverting law enforcement away from serious crimes to arresting small growers.

Hammerstrom repeated this argument even though McCowen read the March 11 statement by Sheriff Allman:

"Measure B will not change our focus. Investigating violent crime will remain our top priority. We do not, and will not, target small grows. We will continue to focus on large grows and complaints about growers who create a public nuisance, endanger public safety or trash the environment."