Everyone has a right to feel disenfranchised by smoking ban "snafu"
What was a year-long battle and an issue that divided this community like none other in recent history, the smoking ban is officially dead, until a new effort is resurrected. In the meantime, every person who held a stake in this cause - whether as activist on one side or another, or merely as interested citizen and concerned voter - should feel disenfranchised.
Approximately seven weeks after the ban went into effect, a local circuit court judge granted the restaurant owners a temporary restraining order, saying the will of the people was hard to discern because of vague wording in the referendum question placed on the ballot by Breathe Free Oshkosh.
That particular decision was legally sound and just plain "the right thing to do." But what soon followed was anything but right and should never have happened.
Within a week or two of Judge Key's ruling, the city attorney's office said a mistake made at city hall prior to the election essentially nullified the smoking ban votes altogether.
According to state statutes, a public notice of referendum questions evidently must be done 28 days prior to the election. In this case it did not happen until the day before the election. And while the people in the city clerk's office and city attorney's office are only human and subject to make mistakes, this mistake was a biggie and everyone should be upset over it.
First and foremost, are the main players in this issue: the restaurant owners and the members of Breathe Free Oshkosh. Both sides took every step necessary to circulate petitions and gather the necessary number of signatures to get their referendum questions on the ballot. They had every reason to believe that the people at city hall would do their jobs well enough to make sure that happened. But because they didn't, an issue was voted on that should not have been and restaurant owners suffered huge financial losses while some employees lost their jobs.
The restaurateurs have every right to sue the city and would probably have a strong case. Whether any actually do or not remains to be seen, but the possibility is very real, despite mayor Mark Harris saying he hasn't thought about it.
What kind of leader, especially one who has a law degree, doesn't think about something like that? Funny how Mr. Harris may not be thinking about it, but everyone else has been. Even people on the street - some with no college or law school at all - have been thinking about it. So how could Mr. Harris not be? He may not WANT to think about it, but I guarantee you he has been. And if he truly hasn't been, then he does not have enough forethought and insight to lead this community in a parade, much less anywhere else.
Lastly, we the people were disenfranchised in this ill-fated election, as well. We all took a stand and we each had a stake in the outcome, to one degree or another. Voters take time out of their busy schedules to go to the polls and cast ballots, having at least some small interest in the outcome. We don't expect to have our votes tossed aside like this either because someone dropped the ball.
The city has said that certain procedures have been put in place to ensure such a thing does not happen again. What are those procedures? We have a right to know what they are. After all, we foot the bill for the election, we pay the salaries at city hall and we have all paid the price to one degree or another as a result of this botched election.
The only good thing to come from this is both sides will once again have a chance to see if they can find some middle ground between them. Let's hope that this time they do!
- Cheryl Hentz
Approximately seven weeks after the ban went into effect, a local circuit court judge granted the restaurant owners a temporary restraining order, saying the will of the people was hard to discern because of vague wording in the referendum question placed on the ballot by Breathe Free Oshkosh.
That particular decision was legally sound and just plain "the right thing to do." But what soon followed was anything but right and should never have happened.
Within a week or two of Judge Key's ruling, the city attorney's office said a mistake made at city hall prior to the election essentially nullified the smoking ban votes altogether.
According to state statutes, a public notice of referendum questions evidently must be done 28 days prior to the election. In this case it did not happen until the day before the election. And while the people in the city clerk's office and city attorney's office are only human and subject to make mistakes, this mistake was a biggie and everyone should be upset over it.
First and foremost, are the main players in this issue: the restaurant owners and the members of Breathe Free Oshkosh. Both sides took every step necessary to circulate petitions and gather the necessary number of signatures to get their referendum questions on the ballot. They had every reason to believe that the people at city hall would do their jobs well enough to make sure that happened. But because they didn't, an issue was voted on that should not have been and restaurant owners suffered huge financial losses while some employees lost their jobs.
The restaurateurs have every right to sue the city and would probably have a strong case. Whether any actually do or not remains to be seen, but the possibility is very real, despite mayor Mark Harris saying he hasn't thought about it.
What kind of leader, especially one who has a law degree, doesn't think about something like that? Funny how Mr. Harris may not be thinking about it, but everyone else has been. Even people on the street - some with no college or law school at all - have been thinking about it. So how could Mr. Harris not be? He may not WANT to think about it, but I guarantee you he has been. And if he truly hasn't been, then he does not have enough forethought and insight to lead this community in a parade, much less anywhere else.
Lastly, we the people were disenfranchised in this ill-fated election, as well. We all took a stand and we each had a stake in the outcome, to one degree or another. Voters take time out of their busy schedules to go to the polls and cast ballots, having at least some small interest in the outcome. We don't expect to have our votes tossed aside like this either because someone dropped the ball.
The city has said that certain procedures have been put in place to ensure such a thing does not happen again. What are those procedures? We have a right to know what they are. After all, we foot the bill for the election, we pay the salaries at city hall and we have all paid the price to one degree or another as a result of this botched election.
The only good thing to come from this is both sides will once again have a chance to see if they can find some middle ground between them. Let's hope that this time they do!
- Cheryl Hentz
posted by Cheryl Hentz at 9:41 AM
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