Councilman Baldwin tells Laura Hamburg that opposing Measure B is "the wrong issue for democratic populists" because of citizen anger at tax-evading commercial growers.
City of Ukiah joins Fort Bragg and Willits in endorsing ballot measure opposing abuses of commercial marijuana production.
After hearing from 11 people supporting Measure B and 5 opposing it, the Ukiah City Council vehemently endorsed the ballot initiative. Council members made exceptionally strong statements explaining their positions.
Councilman Phil Baldwin, generally regarded as an outspoken liberal, went first with a scathing denunciation of commercial marijuana growers for their avoidance of all the tax obligations faced by ordinary working people. He chided Laura Hamburg, chair of the No On Measure B Coalition, who had spoken earlier, saying that while he applauded her activitism on other issues like genetically modified crops, Measure B is "the wrong issue for democratic populists" and a "bad issue for the left" because of the intense resentment of ordinary working people against the tax evasion and lucrative illegal profits of marijuana growers.
Baldwin also cited his own experience as a high school teacher, decrying the harmful influence of Mendocino County's marijuana subculture on students. "Stoners are invariably my weakest students," Baldwin said.
Councilman Benj Thomas pointed out that marijuana, even when grown for medical uses, conflicted with the rights of nearby residents to live safely and without nuisance impacts.
Thomas warned that if Measure B doesn't pass, it will send a harmful message about Mendocino County to the rest of the country and the world.
Councilman John McCowen recalled a neighborhood meeting 4 years ago where he found six very dissimilar neighbors all united in their outrage at a commercial marijuana grower who had destroyed the quality of life on their street.
McCowen asked for comment from Ukiah Police Chief Chris Dewey about the experience of the police in applying Ukiah's recently strengthened marijuana ordinance. Dewey reported that during the past 2 months, Ukiah police had served 15 search warrants, seized 2500 marijuana plants, and confiscated 15 firearms.
Dewey said that his department was getting good cooperation from the new district attorney, Meredith Lintott.
Councilmember Mari Rodin pointed out that many people who voted for the pro-marijuana Measure G in 2000 were now supporting Measure B. "It's impossible for Mendocino County to operate its little experiment in legalization in a vacuum," she said, referring to the federal and state prohibition against marijuana which caused would-be criminal growers to gravitate toward any county that appears to be more tolerant of marijuana cultivation. "The people of Mendocino County have had it," said Rodin.
Mayor Doug Crane added his vote to the other council members', which sparked applause from the audience.
No comments:
Post a Comment