More Law or More Ingenuity?

The Iowa City city council is considering a more restrictive aggressive solicitation ordinance that would keep panhandlers and street musicians at least 15 feet from each other, would limit the area within the Ped Mall to something like a putting green on a miniature golf course for them to ask for help, and disallows the use of obscene language on solicitation signs. In asking the city council to reconsider the need for the more restrictive ordinance at their last meeting, I asked the members to look at current data to drive their decision, as they typically do when considering fiduciary matters. By a couple of the city council members’ own accounts they have been given no data that indicates any arrests or citations have occurred since the original aggressive solicitation ordinance was put in place over six months ago. That ordinance already prevents panhandlers from being within ten feet of store entrances and exits, fifteen feet from crosswalks, and twenty feet from ATMs, among other things.

Given as reasons to support the new ordinance is the request coming from the Downtown Association that there have been complaints by customers concerning some of the panhandlers bothering their customers and the effect is this hurts DTA businesses. Not to second guess the council or the DTA, but if there is a "problem" with aggressive panhandlers and street musicians on the Ped Mall, why aren't current laws being enforced?

The goal the City seems to be leaning toward is the systematic eradication of (or vastly limiting Ped Mall access to) those seen as "undesirable" by the business/real estate owners and others, whether they are acting in accordance with the current law or not. If the “data” that is driving their decision are the potential dollars and cents that businesses feel would come from a Disney-like public center, they should be straight forward and say so. If that is the intent, I’d go so far as suggesting that the City sell the Ped Mall to a real estate developer who could then privatize the space formally. At least then the real costs of doing business would not fall on the taxpayers.

As far as the notion that downtown is somehow unsafe? Why send the message to be afraid of downtown or the people in it. There is an old adage that works: “there is safety in numbers.” To ensure the numbers of people that are needed to support local businesses, incentive is needed to keep locals and out-of-towners discovering the specialness of downtown Iowa City. Look at what already brings people downtown: Friday night music, Saturday and Sunday night movies, art walks, theater, and festivals are all crowd pleasers. Why not work smarter to harness the power of individual creativity and community resources to convince any doubting Thomases that our downtown has a lot to offer and to support? Bring in a crowd and you won’t have to worry about a relatively small number of people.

To be clear, every businessperson is looking for a way to boost their bottom-line and that is her or his individual right. Panhandlers and business people probably at least this in common; they both want to make a living. But, as long as the Ped Mall is a public commons, the rule of law should balance a private request with the public good. The Iowa City bottom-line, in this case, should be to leave well enough alone.

Garry Klein is a member of FAIR! and Citizens for Community Improvement

Protest Press Conference Scheduled Tuesday

PRESS CONFERENCE: FREE SPEECH ON THE PED MALL
Iowa City, IA – On June 1, 2010, Iowa City Council will be considering a third reading to reduce the free speech zone of the Ped Mall to appease business interests that lobbied its members. We find this to be abhorrent to the 1st amendment Rights of all Iowa Citians and ask the City Council to reconsider passing this ordinance. On June 1st at 6:30 pm in front of City Hall, Citizens United for Free Speech will have a press conference to present our side of the story. Members of Iowa Citizen's for Community Improvement, the ACLU, the Bill of Right's Coordinating Committee, FAIR!, as well as street performers and fund-raisers for non-profit groups who will be affected by enacting a more rigorous "aggressive panhandling" ordinance will also be on hand.

As of the release of this notice, the current ordinance has not resulted in the citation or arrest of one person that it was intended to address. Our group is calling for a review of the enforcement of the current ordinance and asks the City Council to delay the last reading of the ordinance until more facts that would justify the action are presented by those who desire the law changed. We will share our survey results (see: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/J6LHR7G) that shows few Iowa City residents or visitors find the Ped Mall to be a dangerous place or unappealing to visit and because the impact for any group seeking goodwill donations will be permanently impacted by the Council's decision, believe this is a "solution seeking a problem."

Last month, the Mayor of Seattle, Washington, Bill McGinn, noted about the aggressive panhandling bill that he vetoed and his City Council backed up, "Although being asked for money on the street can be uncomfortable, it isn't illegal and the Supreme Court has said repeatedly that this is protected speech." He also noted his concern that the law would be leveraged unfairly against those who were perceived to be a threat. We share his concerns.

Transcript from 5/10 Panhandling Discussion

Below is the transcription from the 5/10 Iowa City Council meeting which included a second consideration of an "aggressive solicitation" ordinance modification, the details of which can be found here.

ITEM 18. CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE AMENDING TITLE 8, ENTITLED "POLICE REGULATIONS," CHAPTER 5, ENTITLED "MISCELLANEOUS OFFENSES," SECTION 2, ENTITLED "AGGRESSIVE PANHANDLING," TO PROHIBIT SOLICITING FOR MONEY IN LIMITED AREAS IN THE DOWNTOWN. (SECOND CONSIDERATION)
Hayek: This is second consideration, and staff has requested expedited action.
Bailey: Move second consideration.
Wright: Second.
Hayek: Moved by Bailey, seconded by Wright. Discussion? We clearly have some members of the public here, so…sign in or…or put your name on a sticker and put it on the, uh, book please, and state your name and…address us.
Klein: Uh, good evening again, Garry Klein again, and still at 628 2nd Avenue, as far as I know.
Hayek: And, Garry, I’m sorry to interrupt you. I’m going to ask that people limit their comments to three minutes tonight. Based on the late hour, and the number of people who apparently need to address us. (both talking) Just so everyone can get…
Klein: May I ask the Mayor if…if I run out at three minutes, can I come back for another three? Cause I know this is more than three minutes. I timed it.
Hayek: Yeah.
Klein: I was timing for five, but three I…
Hayek: We’ll play it by ear.
Klein: Okay. Okay, so uh, I…first of all, I wanted to thank everyone behind me for coming. I was surprised. This…when I sent you a letter, I understood I was the first correspondence that the City Council had heard from about this, uh, about this issue, other than the…the person who spoke at the last meeting. So when I sent that letter, uh, I did for three specific reasons. One, I wondered if this is an overkill measure, given my understanding that exactly zero, uh, aggressive panhandling citations have been issued, if I understood, uh, from the Council Members…I asked that question of…of that issue. So if we already have something that’s working, and we have three or four other ordinances that can be used if people get out of hand, why are we here tonight? Why are we here at this late hour? Um, secondly, as a person who’s been before this Council many times
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on free speech issues, um, this further limitation of free speech, essentially putting people in the planters to keep them away from the entrances of businesses seems, again, to be, uh, not very promising given that these same folks may be our…our street musicians, as well as folks like student groups who are raising million…over a million dollars for things like, uh, dance marathon, as an example. Um, and finally, is this really fair to other businesses in downtown, I mean, we’re…we’re treating the ped mall as this very special place, where the rest of downtown has to kind of contend with the fallout when we keep making…making rule changes in that area. Um, so I can understand, given what I just heard about the, uh, from the money for block grant money why perhaps you haven’t heard from, uh, some of the non-profits and their issues. But I also…uh, I guess there are people, as you see behind me, who have a views…a viewpoint that differs from yours, or at least your first vote. So, I want you to think about the different between meaning well and acting well, because we all mean well. Everyone here means well, that’s why we’re here tonight. I think in making your first consideration you meant well…to make things better for the…for businesses on the ped mall. I understand there are issues. But for everybody I hear who says there’s a problem on the ped mall, I read something or see something on a community program that says, we love…here, can I give you a direct quote. This is from a…a tenant on the ped mall. Downtown is safe. I feel safe. Everybody watches out for each other. It’s not just a place to do business. It’s a place for friends to meet and to hangout. Well, a lot of people believe that, and that’s why they’re down there, and it’s not just about business, even for the business owners, apparently. I did contact the DTA to find out who are these people who said we need to do this now, and I was told, well, we’re not going to tell you, so I wonder, did they tell you? Uh, thirdly, um, you know, you have a Member on the Council who frankly may, in my estimation, at least have an ethical consideration in making a vote. Why? Because he has a business on the ped mall. Two he has, uh, in the past made statements about his feelings about panhandling, and how that affects his business. There’s an economic interest at play here. My concern then is that for fairness that…that that person really consider whether it’s through a moral compass or through a higher power, whether it’s appropriate to vote on this issue. Um, so…the last thing I’m going to say, and I’m going to move out and let other people talk, is that at the very least, you mention that this item is being asked to be expedited by staff. What I’m asking you to do is get more data, for crying out loud. If what I’m hearing here is zero people have been arrested on existing aggressive panhandling ordinance, why are we trying to make it harder? So having said that, I…my request to the Council is let’s separate these votes out. There may be more people who need to be heard from, including the Downtown Association. I’m…I’m not saying that I’m the arbiter of all things that are right about the City. I’m not saying that at all. I’m saying that there are people who are going to be affected, and it’s not just the…it’s not the usual suspects. And with that I’ll…I do want to, uh, give something to, uh, for you guys to look at. You may have seen this. It’s called preventing panhandling. There’s a lot of different ways we can approach this thing. It’s good information, and maybe we can try education over adjudication.
Hayek: Mr. Klein, for your information (applause) Mr. Klein, so that you and the others understand, there’s no present motion to consolidate the second and third readings of this item. The…the motion is to pass second consideration, which would still leave the third consideration for the next City Council meeting. (unable to hear person in audience)
Wright: Not tonight!
Hayek: Not tonight.
Fidelis: My name is Libris Fidelis, and of course I live downtown at Capitol House Apartments. Uh, I have made a previous correspondence, connection, uh, through the emails, uh, to the City Council, and I believe I spoke at one of the previous, uh, Council meetings, but I’m not sure if I did or not. The pending Iowa City ordinance concerning the allegations of panhandling, uh, is both labeled and prejudicially, uh, excessive in its effect upon denying basic United States’ civil and constitutional rights to a minority of this City’s impoverished citizens. In the four years that I have lived downtown in Capitol House Apartments, I have regularly, almost daily, made at least six or more round trips per week walking on the downtown sidewalks and right through the ped mall, which is now being labeled by the Sheraton Hotel as “City Plaza.” Those daily walks have been especially, going to the Wesley Center Free Lunch program on north Dubuque Street, and Capitol House Apartments, from Capitol House Apartments, uh, but also randomly I’ve been going to the Wedge for occasional breakfast, to the Iowa City Public Library, to the Bread Garden Market for groceries, to the Post Office, uh, to the Downtown Transit Center, to Old Capitol Mall and to various food establishments for meals. Never in my four years of walking downtown have I witnessed anything remotely resembling what is described in the proposed ordinance as aggressive behavior as the result of impoverished solicitations that have regularly been asking for charitable assistance from the public in presence. Yes, I have witnessed the very rare, occasional minor violent or threatening gang altercations in the ped mall area, but those are very rare, and has never involved impoverished solicitors who are regularly asking for charitable handout donations. There are two very serious civil rights denial issues that our City is attempting to press into, uh, ordinance. First is to deny the City, by City ordinance the right of certain minority citizens to be present in certain locations in our city. A second is to deny this, by City ordinance, the right of certain citizens to communicate their plight with the public, in the hope that some minor monetary aid will be forthcoming from an understanding and sympathetic public. Any restriction or denial of these two basic fundamental human and constitutional rights results in civic disqualification of citizenship rights upon a certain selected disadvantaged segment of our society. Such an act by ordinance if passed by Iowa City Council will be therefore a response to a perceived non-reality that the issue might concern public safety when directed to historically peaceful, impoverished solicitors. But rather, this is actually a personal vendetta by certain commercial
economic special interests, that originates from a dislike for seeing in the public presence the apparent low-income and non-income disadvantaged citizens who come to the central downtown area to solicit for generous but meager charitable assistance. The end result of this ordinance is, if approved, uh, by Iowa City Council, will be a prejudiced ordinance that is aimed at excluding citizenship on a particular segment of our society, just because of their personal appearance and activity to solicit charitable handouts in a typically peaceful manner. This committee, uh, Iowa City committee, uh, Iowa City Citizens Community Committee urges that this ordinance must be stopped now by a City Council vote against passage. It is both immoral and presents a caste making precedence for our city, which I believe will only result in a more probable civil rights lawsuit, which our City cannot win, and which will incur the wasted legal expenses thereto for our City to pay. Vote against this potentially tragic and defaming ordinance now. Thank you.
Hayek: Thank you. (applause)
Smithers: Uh, my name is David Smithers. I’m from…I live in Wellman, so I’m an ex-urban Iowa Citian. Um, I’ve lived and worked and went to school in…the greater Iowa City area for nearly 40 years. At least five of those years, mostly in the 70s, I lived in Iowa City itself. Uh, the downtown of Iowa City together with the University of Iowa campus is a historic and vital commons. Not only to Iowa City, but essentially to the world. We’re a UNESCO Literature City (mumbled) to Iowa and to the nation. The commons needs to be protected in order to protect the First Amendment rights of free speech and assembly. The commons has existed in downtown Iowa City, and the U of I campus, in conjunction with commerce and residential usage, for over 150 years. Uh, changes in commerce have induced…include an influx of federal dollars. The urban renewal that started in the mid-60s and just ended not too long ago. Uh, to the present day. It has also seen changes in transportation, and the nature of the pedestrian experience. Much commerce has fled to the…the malls and the big box stores for sure, where there exists cheap land and free parking. The congregation of people in such commercial areas has not been (mumbled) by any notion of commons though, and that is a very mixed bless…blessing indeed. Free parking is no substitute for free speech and free assembly. And that’s the reason for people like me, and other people, go to downtown Iowa City to…to mingle and to shop and to eat and get Library books and so on. And, yes, occasionally people, uh, protest down there, and some people ask for help. It is, uh, a vital dynamic for this city and it’s part of our history. Now a dark cloud is closing in…over us, and I’m not just talking about volcanic clouds from Iceland, that’s bringing down our cold rain. Post-911 America has witnessed increased laws of security, especially security of property. Human rights, including economic human rights, has taken hits, such as English-only laws here in Iowa, where place immigration, enforcement raids, restrictions to protect and sometimes, um, restrict free speech, something called free speech zones. That was mentioned not too long here…long ago here in Iowa City, uh, a few winters ago in Des Moines, uh…homeless people were cleared out of their heated hooches by the City of Des Moines, in the dead of winter, and now Iowa City with, afraid of its increased socio-economic and ethnic diversity has spewed forth with curfews and prohibitions on youth groups, uh, congregation..congregating, and now increasing restrictions on homeless people, among them neglected veterans, asking for help. Two thoughts come to my mind, well…two things bother me. Arizona immigration laws, and now this! Uh, Iowa City becoming more, progressive Iowa City becoming more intolerant. One word comes to my mind, I hate to say it: boycott.
Hayek: Thank you.
Clark: Excuse me (noise on mic). Good evening, Mayor, Council Members, my name is Sarah Clark and I live in the, uh, northside of town. Iowa City already has an ordinance in effect that, um, which outlaws aggressive solicitation. I would like to see some evidence that the current ordinance has not been effective. Why is there a push for further restrictions? It seems to me that these changes are being driven by one organization’s perception that downtown can only be rescued by further restricting certain persons and their activities. I’m in downtown Iowa City several, uh, several times a week, often to visit businesses within the ped mall zone. Not once have I felt threatened by someone panhandling…panhandling. Nor have I ever been directly approached by anyone asking me for money. What I have seen on a number of occasions are one or two individuals sitting quietly near the curb holding a small sign asking for a donation. Are these persons aggressive, in their panhandling? No, they are not. Have…how have they reacted, have they reacted in an aggressive or threatening way when I acknowledge them, but say that I cannot give them a contribution? No, they do not. These proposed changes to the ordinance have already created some unintended consequences as evidenced by a letter to the editor in today’s Press-Citizen from University of Iowa Dance Marathon organizers. Are you now going to amend the proposed ordinance changes to provide exceptions for non-profit organizations? You head down a slippery slope when you begin to differentiate between acceptable and unacceptable solicitors. I think these proposed changes are unworthy of the Iowa City I love. Rather than corral panhandlers into an even smaller area, wouldn’t it be more productive to provide information about local social services? One of the reasons I chose to move to Iowa City last year was because I knew it was not a ‘one flavor’ city where everyone looks and acts alike. The diversity of ped mall users, including panhandlers and solicitors from non-profit organizations contributes to the wonderful vitality that we enjoy in Iowa City. I believe the proposed ordinance would have a detrimental impact on that vitality, and I urge you to reject it. Thank you very much.
Hayek: Thank you. (applause)
Bennett: Hi, I’m Darcy Bennett, the Executive Business Director of Dance Marathon, and I’m just here to inform you on how the panhandling ordinance could go ahead and affect our organization, as well as other non-profit organizations. We are a
student-run philanthropy that raises funds for children with cancer, pediatric oncology patients and their families, treated at the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital. The money that we raise goes directly to the Hospital and the community surrounding it with the…area families who are treated here. For the last three years we have raised over a million dollars each year for pediatric cancer families and patients. With the money raised we provide financial, emotional, and social support to these families. There are many programs that have been implemented with this, including child life assistance, summer programs for oncology patients and their siblings, and hospital renovations. We also fund a lot of the small things, like a dinner every other Sunday night, and parking vouchers for hospital ramps that can really mean a lot to families who are staying in our hospital for weeks to months at a time. We recently donated $1 million actually to the University of Iowa College of Medicine to fund renovations to a research laboratory and to the establishment of a research fund. We work year-round to raise funds and awareness for pediatric cancer, and during the weekend in February, we celebrate the lives of those children who have passed before us, and who are here with us today, in a 24-hour event. In order for students to join our event, they are required to raise $400, and much of this money is raised from our downtown panhandling, as you may call it. In the past years we’ve raised up to $30,000 per year with this downtown panhandling, and even though that doesn’t sound like much to a million dollar organization, it really, truly is. In…to put it in perspective, uh, we spent $30,000 per year for holiday gift cards that are donated just to the families so they can go ahead and provide presents and different things for their children around the holidays. We understand the main objective of this ordinance, but it does pose problems for a non-profit organization, like ourselves, and many others. One of the fundraisers that we, as I have mentioned earlier, do is kind of called ‘canning’ where we ask dancers or student participants to ask for donations in the pedestrian mall from 11:00 PM to 2:00 AM. This opportunity allows students of any socio-economic status to raise funds for pediatric oncology, as well as continued participation in an educationally beneficial activity during the late-night and weekend hours. This new ordinance would greatly decrease the amount of participants allowed to fundraise in this manner. We normally would have 30 students out on one night and this may decrease down to 10 students on a particular night. And, many students in our organization really do rely on this source of fundraising, as many of our dancers, including myself, do not have wealthy family members who can go ahead and cut a check for $400 in order for them to participate in our event. For this reason it is really important that we do offer this opportunity to students to be able t supplement their own fundraising costs, and as necessary be able to raise the full amount through downtown ‘canning.’ Not only will this decrease our student participation, but it may also affect the amount of money we are able to give back to the Iowa City and University of Iowa community, as you’ve heard previously. We are constantly revising the ‘canning’ program to abide by City ordinances and the University of Iowa cash handling stipulations. We’ll be willing to make adjustments as you feel necessary to please the general public; however, if this is passed in the current format it could directly impact the amount of money we are able to raise in our downtown ‘canning’ program. So, as a result, we would just like to ask you to possibly think of a revision for this for non-profit organizations or I don’t know all of the stipulations behind everything, so just kind of consider us when you’re thinking about passing this ordinance. And I would like to thank you for your time and just ask you to consider us, as well as the pediatric families and patients.
Hayek: Thank you. (applause)
Fiegen: Mr. Mayor, Members of the Council, my name again is Tom Feegan from greater Iowa City. Given the late hour, let me be brief. I have two concerns about your ordinance. The first relates to the First Amendment. We have an inalienable right to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, and it appears to me that this ordinance, including the tightening of the panhandling, is a abridgement of that right. The second is, the ped mall in our fine city is a unique public space. One of the prior speakers referred to it as a ‘commons.’ And, it is that, and it offers to all of us, all citizens of Iowa, all visitors to Iowa City, a unique patchwork that includes people that may be offensive to some of us, that may be different than all of us, but they are part of Iowa. They are part of Iowa City, and this ordinance in essence seeks to push them into the shadows, because there may be some inconvenience. There may be some uncomfortableness, and I would say to you as the elected representatives of this city and this patchwork quilt that you do not pass the second reading of this ordinance, and you do not shunt these people who are human beings into the dark corners of Iowa City, but allow them to be part of the patchwork that is our ped mall, that is our downtown. Thank you. (applause)
Hayek: Anyone else wishing to address the Council? Briefly, Garry!
Klein: It will be very brief. I…I wanted to offer…I was about to say a fig leaf, but that would be inappropriate. A, uh, a…olive branch! That’s what I was looking for (laughter). I don’t know biblical stuff; I get confused (laughter). Uh…but, one of the things that I did pay attention to is, you know, I look at things that have been successful in our city. One of the things that has been successful for the DTA has been the shop, or..and actually the Chamber of Commerce as well, is the shop local or the 350 programs, and I got to thinking, if…if we really believe that our social services could be better served by educating the public, and…and I really mean that. By having posters, having flyers, having information on the DTA’s web site, you know, because we, let’s face it, panhandlers are some of the most web literate people I know, and uh, and so it’s about where are…where are resources available. So, part of it is not to…I’m not a…I don’t want to be in the business of shutting people up, so much as I want to be in the business of helping them have better information, make decisions, and I know given, uh, a lot of things that were said tonight, and things you’ve been working on tonight, you like to…you like to have data to drive your decisions. As I said earlier, I feel in this particular case the data isn’t helping you here. It’s the anecdotal information that seems to be driving the decision. I think we would all feel better, uh, if this decision was based on fact rather than, uh, observation. So with that, again, I…I ask, I, like everyone else, I would love for you to change your minds and vote against, uh, this particular ordinance so that we don’t need a third reading, but if, you know, if…if you feel the need to have more people come visit you, I suppose we could do that! So, thanks so much!
Hayek: Thank you, Garry. Council?
Dickens: I could recuse myself, but I…I have a real hard time doing that. I…I’m downtown all the time. Some of you people come downtown occasionally. I’m there 330 days a year. I do get some Sundays off, um…I was, uh, I was…had an aggressive panhandler just come up to me last week. I was heading down to pick up my packet a week ago Thursday, and he would not back off. And finally I said, I’m on my way to the City Hall, if you want to follow me down, you’re more than welcome. So there is still some aggressive panhandling going on. Um, I see it all the time. I will recuse myself from voting on this, but I will not remain silent on it, because I live and breathe it every day and our customers, and non-customers, people that are just downtown, will come in our store to get away from some people, because they are still very aggressive. I would say overall it’s gotten a lot better. And I think it has, and those people sitting down, I know most of those people. I say ‘hi’ to them every day. I don’t have a problem with those. It’s still the aggressive, and they’re not…they’re not giving up. And, that’s the only reason…I will not vote on this, but I will not remain silent.
Dilkes: Let me just say one thing with respect to…to this, um…if I had thought that Mr. Dickens had a legally compelled conflict of interest I would have advised him as much. Um, I…I don’t. Um, clearly the decision to recuse himself though is his.
Wright: Terry, if I could just…step in. The aggressive panhandling already is illegal, um, what we’re talking about here is further restrictions, and that’s where I really start having a big problem with this ordinance. Um, for a bunch of reasons, uh, and I’ll probably rehash to a certain extent what I’ve said before, but we’re focusing first of all a group of people that’s essentially powerless. Uh, they have no economic clout of this community. They’re down on the street asking for money. That’s really not a fun way to make a living. I’ve talked with some of these folks. I know what kind of abuse they take. Uh, and the aggressive incident you spoke about is already illegal under our existing ordinance. Um, furthermore, I feel this is just a, yet one more whack against First Amendment rights to free speech. Panhandling is protected speech in the United States. Uh, I think the…unfortunate thing that we’re facing here…is that very frequently panhandlers are not well dressed. They don’t have good haircuts. They’re coats are dirty. They make us feel uncomfortable, and I think that’s what we’re really talking about here. It’s not a matter of safety downtown from the panhandlers. Uh, I…I said it the last time and I…I still agree with it this time, I find the…I’m sure the intentions behind this ordinance were good, but I think its overall affect is still mean-spirited and small-minded and the Council should be embarrassed that we’re even talking about it.
Hayek: I, um…I have legal training. I take First Amendment issues very seriously, um, our City Attorney’s office, which has…approved this, um, ordinance, uh, takes First Amendment issues very seriously, as well. In my estimation, um, this is both constitutional and reasonable. It allows solicitation to continue, uh, in the downtown area. Um, I am…I’m not interested in exceptions. I think that is a slippery slope. We cannot say that certain people can be within an area and others, uh, cannot as it relates to this ordinance. And that will impact toward the non-profits. Um, you will still be able to solicit, uh, in the designated areas within the entire city plaza, um, so based on that, I will continue to support this. But I…I appreciate the views of those who feel very strongly about this, and uh, I’m glad you showed up tonight, and I’m glad that the City Council will, uh, follow its tradition of…of making sure we have ample opportunity for public input on a very important issue.
Wilburn: The only piece that I would, uh, add, or highlight, is that um, as you had said, Mr. Mayor, it still allows, um, panhandling in that strip within the middle of the ped mall, so, but there is some reduction, um, and that piece that I added last time was that…aspect that we have in terms of balancing, um, balancing rights, and that’s between, um, the businesses and the individuals that have come forward, uh, with concerns, um, about aggressive panhandling to help try and provide some type of (mumbled) in terms of ease…um, ease of clarifying where…where it cannot occur in the pedestrian mall. Um, that’s the only piece that I would add.
Hayek: No further discussion?
Bailey: Well, the commons requires a balancing act and we’re fortunate that we still have a commons in downtown Iowa City. Many cities have turned their pedestrian plazas or the city plaza that is legally and technically called, they’ve turned them back into vehicular traffic. I was just reading today about, I think it was Sacramento, has gone back to vehicular traffic in their pedestrian plaza. Um, and what I’m seeing in our downtown, which concerns me, um, because I love our downtown, is a fragile economic environment right now. We are fortunate to have so many local businesses down there, and that balancing act between people who want customers coming in their business and feeling comfortable…I always feel comfortable downtown. I’ve never been downtown where I haven’t felt comfortable, but I also have, you know, parents in town who don’t feel comfortable coming downtown, and I understand their perspective. Some of it is, oh, people don’t look like us and they look a little different, and I get that, and I can, you know, say Mom, come on, but I don’t want them to feel unsafe, and I understand that important balancing act with this. There’s still an area that’s designated. It’s still balancing rights, and it’s balancing issues. I’m glad to hear from everybody tonight who’s concerned about our community, because that’s what it takes to build community, and I know that many of you think I’m wrong, but I am going to continue to support this, in support of our wonderful locally owned businesses downtown in this very challenging and difficult economic time.
Wilburn: And there is the education…I forgot there is the education component related to this, involving the parking meters, which I think everyone does support, and those resources will go to some of the, uh, non-profits that are working with, uh, providing support for some individuals, and uh, and I do agree with (mumbled) no exceptions.
Hayek: Anything further? Roll call, please. Item passes 4-1, Dickens abstaining.
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FAIR! and League of Women Voters Sponsor Board of Supervisor Forum

From Carol Spaziani, FAIR! Steering Committee member:

FAIR! will be co-sponsoring with the League of Women Voters a forum for the candidates running for the unexpired term on the Johnson County Board of Supervisors. The election is on Jan. 19 at your regular polling place. The press release below gives you all the details about the forum. We hope many FAIR! members turn out to ask these candidates questions on progressive issues. There are sharp differences among the candidates. Janelle Rettig is currently filling the vacancy by appointment until Jan. 19.

FAIR! has chosen not to endorse a candidate this time in favor of co-sponsoring this opportunity to hear these differences for yourself! If you are unable to attend, try to catch it on a local cable channel, and do definitely VOTE. Given the uncertainty of the weather, it is best to vote early. You can vote now during regular business hours at the County Auditor's office in the County Administration building on So. Dubuque. There will be other opportunities at Hy-Vee, the Public Library,the North Liberty Community Center. Watch the news for times and places.

The candidates vying for the current vacancy on the Johnson County Board of Supervisors, Lori Cardella (Rep), Jim Knapp (nominated by petition) and Janelle Rettig (Dem), will share their perspectives and answer audience questions at a candidate forum on January 7th, 2010. The forum, co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Johnson County (LWVJC) and FAIR!, will be held at the Iowa City Public Library,Room A, from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm. A meet and greet will follow from 8:30 pm to
9:00 pm. Refreshments provided by FAIR!

The Special Election is scheduled for January 19th, 2010. The shortened period for campaigning heightened the need for public forums, a need the League of Women Voters of Johnson County consistently meets in the community. The forum will be broadcast live on the Iowa City Public Library Station(cable 10)and rebroadcast on City Channels in Coralville, Iowa City and North Liberty. Allison Werner-Smith, a lawyer and League member, will moderate.

Voting on January 19th, 2010 will be at your regular voting location with early voting available throughout the county. Visit www.jcauditor.com for more information.

What The Corridor Can Learn From New Orleans

When Hurricane Katrina unleashed its fury, it was largely blamed for the monumental damage that followed in New Orleans and its neighbors. Further evidence showed that the failure of the levees were to blame and that the Army Corp of Engineers who manage those levees failed to upgrade them despite reports that the levees were sorely in need of shoring up.

The Corridor and particularly Iowa City and Coralville have relied on the Army Corp of Engineers to manage the waterflow at the Coralville Dam. As we learned, the slowness in releasing the water may have contributed to a lot of the flooding that happened in the area. It is hoped that the improvements that are being planned to improve Park Road bridge and other plans will lead to long-term solutions. additionally, it is hoped that the Army Corp of Engineers have learned from the past and will regulate water flow better in the future.

Perhaps Corridor leaders should consider the measure that the New Orleans City Council did. See the video below.

City Council Election: A Sleeper and A Squeaker

Today's Iowa City election netted the lowest turnout since 1985. The Iowa City precincts during September's school board election reported 4,394 voters at the polls, while the City Council election today saw 4,682 voters turn out. As expected Susan Mims and Terry Dickens won the at-large race with 75% and 70% of the vote over The University of Iowa students Dan Tallon and Jeff Shipley. Mark McCallum gave Connie Champion the closest race she has ever had in her four elections as Champion narrowly defeated McCallum by 172 votes.

Housing: Green and Affordable?

As we struggle with the need for new housing to be both affordable and as green as possible, we have to ask if these goals are compatible? Apparently some folks have been figuring this out and doing it.

Housing Matters: Can Building Green Be Affordable?

The Iowa City Housing and Community Development Association presents a discussion on building sustainable and affordable housing. 7 p.m. Oct. 28th, Iowa City Public Library Meeting Rm. A. Speakers: Gregory Paul Johnson (Small House Society). Don Otto (DPO Construction LC).

Here are some links to other thinkers and doers:

Green affordable Housing Coalition

The Green, Affordable Housing Guide

Anti-Loitering Passes, Mims, Dickens, Shipley, Tallon Win Primary

The Iowa City Council passed a city-wide loitering ordinance and less than 4% of registered voters (1,872 to be precise) turned out for the city council primary. A great day for democracy in Johnson County. With elections costing at least $75,000, Iowa City residents, particularly those who complain about how taxes are spent, should take a look in the mirror.

By a vote of 6 to 1, the City Council has locked down "city sidewalks, streets, trails, bridge, or crossing or to congregate, stand, loaf or loiter in any hall, doorway, passage, or entrance of any public building, theater, hotel, eating house, lodging house, store, shop, or factory, or other like building so as to obstruct such place or hinder or prevent persons walking along or into or out of such place or attempting or desiring to do so." A violation can be proven "whether a person is actually hindered or prevented from passing." Good work city council, I expect law enforcement to be out in force on the Ped Mall looking for violators.

Primary Fever--Catch It

Iowa City City Council at-large candidates need your support. If you are eligible to vote, have the desire to brave the rain, and want to participate in a democaratic process, go vote. Also, the many poll workers who are working on their knitting, reading books, and/or chatting really would love your company.

Don't know where? This should help. You can vote all the way up to 9 pm. How good is that?

Don't know for whom to vote? Here is a link to the candidates info. Don't like what you see, you can always write in candidates that you think would do a good job. It is a democracy after all.

Deng Death Investigation Press Conference at 1:30 p.m.

From Iowa City Police Department as of 9:01 pm Thursday 9/24:

The Iowa City Police Department will host a media conference on Friday, September 25th, regarding the John Deng death investigation.

The Iowa Department of Justice's Office of the Attorney General has completed its review of the case and has returned its final report to Janet Lyness, the County Attorney of Johnson County. Officials will comment on the investigation and review, and the Attorney General Office's report will be made available to the media and general public. The following officials will be present at the media conference:
• Thomas H. Miller - Deputy Attorney General, Office of the Iowa Attorney General;
• Janet Lyness - County Attorney, Johnson County;
• Sam Hargadine - Chief of Police, Iowa City;
• Lonny Pulkrabek - Sheriff, Johnson County.

The media conference will be held in Emma Harvat Hall (Council Chambers) in the Iowa City Civic Center, 410 E. Washington Street. The room will be open and available for set-up and seating beginning at 1:00pm on Friday, September 25th. The media conference will begin promptly at 1:30pm. Hardcopies of the Attorney General Office's report will be available during the media conference.

Fair Hearing of Iowa City Ordinances

The City Council has two more readings of the controversial minor curfew and loitering ordinances. Below are links to both. While FAIR!, the group I am chair of, supports efforts to make Iowa City and Johnson County safe and vibrant, we also have concerns that the enforcement of these ordinances may run contrary to those goals. We fully support neighborhoods implementing Neighborhood Watch programs and community dialogues and think that the City may be using a hammer to accomplish what good communication could effectively solve. Please take a look at the ordinances and if you are able to contact City Council members between now and September 29th, it would be appreciated.

Curfew Ordinance:
http://www.icgov.org/site/CMSv2/file/cityClerk/ProposedNewJuvenileCurfew.pdf
This was approved on first reading by a vote of 4 - 3 (Correia, Wilburn, Bailey voting in the negative; O'Donnell, Champion, Hayek, and Wright voting in the affirmative).

Some points to consider:
* Curfew is implemented by age groups, but many teenagers do not carry proof of age.
* Other ordinances, including disturbing the peace are already on the books.
* Persons who are causing disturbances are aware they are violating existing laws, no assurance that this ordinance will change behaviors; has not been effective in other communities.
* Likely to escalate tension in neighborhood without other tools; e.g., mediation, community dialogue, social events
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/OLD+CURFEW+LAW+STRUCK+DOWN%3B+PALMDALE+HAS+NEW,+APPROVED+ORDINANCE+IN...-a083631565

If you aren't sure about who it will affect, see this small clip by one of the council members.
http://tinyclip.tv/292743df

Loitering Ordinance:
http://www.icgov.org/site/CMSv2/file/cityClerk/ProposedLoitering.pdf
This was approved on first reading by a vote of 6 - 1 (Correia voting in the negative; All others voting in the affirmative).

Some points to consider:
* Loitering ordinance applies to sidewalks, trails and can be enforced by the perception of "obstruction"--meaning if I believe you are obstructing my ability to get around you, you can be fined $50.
* Hard to enforce in that it relies on subjective judgment of police officer.
http://www.nacdl.org/public.nsf/newsreleases/99mn012?opendocument
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/05/09/BAP817HBAI.DTL

U V. I C in City Council Primary October 6th

It is hard to believe that in less than a month the primaries for city council seats in Iowa City is occurring. With two at-large city councilors in Iowa City stepping down and five candidates in the running, three of whom are current University of Iowa students, it should be an interesting primary--particularly if there is a substantial student turnout.

Jared Bazzell is a senior Communications major at The University of Iowa and is running on a platform of economic development, public safety, and better community relations between the University of Iowa and the City of Iowa City. You can tweet him here or Facebook him here.

Terry Dickens is a downtown business owner and life-long Iowa City resident. Dickens is for improved public safety including adequate police protection and staffing the Northeast fire station, preserving the Senior Center, affordable housing and new development, and adjusting building codes and regulations to strike a balance between safety and encouraging new development.

Susan Mims, an investment consultant, former School Board president, and a 30+ year Iowa City resident, is Her website is functional as of today. According to the Daily Iowan, "said she is banking on her five years of experience working with finances. “What becomes very big for the next council is finances because they are going to have to cut money,” she said. She stressed businesses should be taxed — not homeowners — for funds so local government can deal with issues such as improving public safety."

Jeff Shipley is a senior at The University of Iowa Political Science major and liaison to the Iowa City Council. He is running on a tough on crime, anti-franchise tax, pro-conservation and beautification, and keeping downtown a friendly place for young adults by not reviving efforts to put a 21 ordinance on the books.

Dan Tallon is a junior at The University of Iowa majoring in Political Science and "would like to see the city government work more for the students. The University of Iowa is an important aspect of Iowa City, and its students should have a voice in city politics. I want to be that voice to protect the interests of students. I also represent the interests of several different groups: renters, service members, youth, as well as the city at large. I would like to see the cost of living in this city go down. Being a student who attends school only on the G.I. Bill, my income is fixed at the rate the Veterans Administration sees fit. A rate that is sometimes well over shadowed by the exorbitant cost of living near campus."

"Iowa City deserves a representative who truly wants to serve the residents, including students, someone who wants to improve the city, someone who wants a fair and balanced budget, and someone who will dedicate their time and effort to the city. I believe I am that person. I have spent my entire adult life, since the age of 17, as a soldier and student, and I would like to transfer those qualities of soldierly virtues and pursuit of knowledge to service of the residents of IOWA CITY!"

At present, it is hard to know who to support as there seems to be no true "progressive" in the race--though certainly there are some "populists", so I'll update you with my findings. However, this might help. Nancy Quelhorst, President and CEO of the Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce wrote "We do not recruit or endorse “chamber” candidates. We do, however, encourage pragmatic individuals with the potential to improve our local business climate (and therefore our community) to run for office. A subcommittee of our Local Government Affairs committee has led this initiative and as a result three local leaders have announced their candidacy to date: Terry Dickens, [District B candidate]Mark McCallum, and Susan Mims."

So it sounds like the primary will be Town vs. Gown. More later.

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Truth

If happiness is so valuable (as our founders apparently felt it was to put it in the Declaration of Independence), it must be because it allows us to seek our truths. This is a good thing as long as these truths include facts, as well as feelings. One of the main reasons I began to blog was because I always felt that facts needed to be brought into arguments where feelings and emotions tended to get in the way of making good decisions.

Here are three issues where facts and feelings have gotten muddied: education, health care, and public safety. I've written a fair amount about health care as of late and was mostly pleased to see the President take a measured approach to making his pitch for 95% or "near universal" health care. I was surprised, as I imagine most Americans were to hear Rep. Joe Wilson shout "You lie" when the President was speaking about his conviction that his plan would not cover illegal immigrants to both Houses last night.

Throughout the summer recess a lot of lies have been spread about health care or more accurately health insurance reform. There is no need for me to rehash these. However, it seems to me that now that the planks of Obama's plan are outlined, a reasonable discussion of the facts should help to make a change to our broken system, allow most people to have basic care, and to reduce the long-term overall costs of health care. Again, the devil is always in the details (as members of the Houses reflected in their chuckling at the President's acknowledgment of this fact).

Ultimately, any change comes with compromise and consultation. In reflecting on a couple of issues that are going on in my community about education reform and neighborhood safety reform, it is clear that facts need to be weighed so that good decisions can be made.

With regard to the outcome of the school board election where the message seemed to be fix what is broken in an equitable, transparent fashion, the first order of business should be the naming a new school board president. Given the contentious nature of the meetings and public hearings, it is clear that the board will benefit from having a new voice as it's tacit leader. The next leader should have a consensus building ability and the patience to weigh both the facts presented in public input with those of consultants about redistricting, the Roosevelt repurposing issue and additional school facilities, and balancing the school's budget. The new leader should also have the independence to question the school superintendent and staff's recommendations.

With regard to the southeast Iowa City residents' concerns regarding the safety of their neighborhood, it would be good to balance the facts of crime statistics with the factual efforts of neighbors work amongst themselves to come up with solutions that aid community building. I readily agree and support that city resources should be made available to the residents in the area to improve conditions there, e.g., like making inclusionary zoning a mandatory tool to spread low-income housing out better in the city and police to respond to complaints. However, I disagree that additional laws are needed to deal with the safety concerns, as they can have a chilling effect on overall relations and exacerbate the wound that has been festering due to a lack of understanding and respect between members in that part of the community.

Just as Congress was waiting for the President to offer his calculated plan, the city should wait for the community to offer its plan for improving relations. To parents in the school district who are concerned about how schools will be affected by school district decisions, come up with a plan.

Feelings are easy, truth is harder to find. Fact finding is essential and collaboration key to solutions that work. Who knows, it might even lead to happiness or at the least "to form a more perfect Union."

Endorsing Informed Communication

After attending last evenings District Parent Organization/Gazette School Board candidate forum, two impressions were lasting. One: candidates felt that communication from the district and School Board to the public were generally lacking and two: trust with the public has been broken regarding the processes that allow the district to function. What was generally absent in the conversation is their priorities for how the board would communicate priorities and the financial constraints that will hamstring them for the foreseeable future in making decisions.

I felt that two candidates really understood the financial constraints better than the others, Mike Cooper and Sarah Swisher. A dialogue between the two of them was particularly telling as to how funding streams affect what can be done regarding busing students. This is not to say that other candidates didn't talk about "fiscal responsibility", but there was no particular context given for their statements.

With regard to creative/pragmatic solutions to the issues of student achievement, school overcrowding, and boundary issues, Jean Jordison highlighted the successes of the Davenport schools in using their school bond referendum monies in an accountable way. She also highlighted the need to look at best practices. Sarah Swisher also promoted the idea of targeted year-round schooling at Kirkwood and Grant Wood elementaries. Mike Cooper expressed an interest in exploring whether expanding junior highs to grade 9 or opening a separate 9th grade academy could be considered.

With respect to communication, April Armstrong and Tuyet Dorau were clear about ways to communicate the business of the board to the public in transparent ways using technology, board members being responsible to visit schools multiple times a year, and attending school events where they could communicate with parents. What was lacking in their presentation was how they intended to be effective in doing this given their own careers and family obligations. A discussion with Jan Leff and Tim Krumm may convince them that the time commitment to hold public meetings is considerable, particularly over a four year term.

Anne Johnson's contributions were not negligible, but were often agreements with others on the panel. Her most significant contribution was bringing up teacher salaries and her desire to keep district cuts away from the classroom, with the understanding that teachers would need to be open to a less than 5 to 6% pay hike annually when the allowable growth formula maxes out at 4%. Both Swisher and Dorau expressed a need to work to increase the state formula.

I was sitting next to former Iowa City council member Bob Elliott and he was supportive of candidates Armstrong, Cooper, Dorau, and Johnson. A former school administration professor on my other side, Arnold Lindeman liked candidates Cooper, Dorau, and Swisher.

At this time, I will limit my endorsement to only one of the candidates. I feel that over a four year term a lot of things can and will change. What I hang my endorsement on is what has a person done in the past, how successful have they been in pushing for change, and their willingness to stand in the face of adversity. In my estimation, only Sarah Swisher has demonstrated the experience, pragmatism, and toughness to work well with this board to really prioritize needs and creatively support equity in all the schools which is crucial to the long-term success of all students in the district. I also know that she can arm herself to the teeth with information when needed, as she did when she pushed for "Yes, for Kids."

I note that Mike Cooper has often been a refreshing voice on the current board, e.g., when it has been stalled or when district financials are presented. I wonder if he will hold up for a 4 year term like the last two years, particularly, as he noted candidly "at some point the board has to do it's work." Unfortunately, to do its work, there is some significant fence mending needed with public trust.

With regard to April Armstrong, Tuyet Dorau, Anne Johnson, and Jean Jordison, each has strengths, but each has a different learning curve. Dorau, clearly eloquent and intelligent, will need to bone up on the functions of the board and the process of this type of governance--I suspect reegardless of the outcome, we will see her in the political arena in the future. Armstrong, while clearly a leader in her particular school's PTO and a solid communicator, did not impress with her knowledge of the financial aspect of the job. Jordison often the most eloquent about neighborhood schools was also the most noncommittal about her function the board other than to move actions forward. Lastly, Anne Johnson was knowledgeable about achievement, as one would expect from an employee of Pearson Education. If Mike Cooper were not running, I would likely be more supportive as they have similar backgrounds and he has the experience.

Regardless of these observations, I wish all the candidates good luck between now and about 10 pm on election day, September 8th. Given the light turnout that often accompanies this election, the separation between winners and runner-ups may be a handful of votes. You can vote early through Friday at the County auditor's office or go to the website for the polling place nearest you on election day.

Dining Room Tables, Democracy, and Health Care Reform

Unless you have been comatose, no doubt you have heard about Massachusett's Congressman Barney Frank's retorts to a woman at one of his townhall meetings about health care reform. The woman, who was holding a sign that was doctored to depict President Obama as Hitler, asked "Why do you continue to support a Nazi policy as Obama has expressly supported this policy? Why are you supporting it?" He said, "When you ask me that question? I am going to revert to my ethnic heritage and answer your question with a question. On what planet do you spend most of your time?" After being momentarily stopped, the woman continued her line of questioning and the Congressman, in sincerity said, "Ma'am, trying to have a conversation with you would be like trying to argue with a dining room table. I have no interest in doing it."

And it is a shame when two people, whether it is a Congressman or a constituent, resort to belittling. It is more so a shame when there is no real dialogue going on.

The town hall meeting in Iowa City this Saturday was not nearly vitriolic, but there were a number of people who were clearly not there to listen, but to engage in political theater. Two rows in front of me were two men, one sporting an American flag ball cap and the other wearing a union t-shirt, who engaged each other. The fellow in the ball was booing 2nd District Congressman Dave Loebsack's response to a question asked by an audience member and the fellow in the union t-shirt asked him to keep it down. The other fellow glared red-faced at the union fellow and asked him if he was going to make him. Fortunately a Loebsack staffer walked toward them and they settled into an uneasy truce.

For those who were there to listen and learn, it was no doubt troubling to them to watch normally civil people get bent out of shape over health care reform that may or may not happen and certainly will change as the kinks are worked out. How can anyone know what the plan is unless they actually have read it (and at the size of a phone book, that's not an easy read) or if they come to the townhall meeting to get the synopsis and have the chance to have their questions answered? Congressman Loebsack was quite willing to address questions, but also was encouraging of people to preface their questions with their feelings--an invitation that would be taken advantage of throughout the hour plus meeting.

While Congressmen and Senators are trying to do their jobs to help their constituents to understand what the bill actually is, it does not help that some on both sides resort to out and out lies about what the House bill is about. The Senate will have to forward its own bill (which will likely have its own problems for those who are fighting for or against a public option) and the two houses will have to recouncil the two bills before it goes to the President. If anybody should be pounding the pavement to try to hear what concerns their constituents, it is the Senators and they should not be making pronouncements about "Grandma" and her state of being. They should be genuinely having dining room table conversations about what it is that is scaring their constituents about their health care and then take this back to Washington to write legislation around.

Perhaps if the theater could be scaled back and real people's concerns could be addressed, we could end up with health care reform that is healthy.

Dealing with Trouble: When Neighbors Organize

Yesterday morning I attended a meeting at Fairmeadows Park organized by neighbors of a group called "Bringing It Together" (BIT) headed by Brandi Mastain in the Grant Wood school area who are concerned by recent outbreaks in crime in their area. Also in attendance were four Iowa City Council members: Mike Wright, Regina Bailey, Ross Wilburn, and Connie Champion; Acting City Manager, Dale Helling; Police Chief, Sam Hargadine and several of his officers; Neighborhood Services Coordinator, Marcia Bollinger in addition to 125 to 150 people mostly from the area.

The group, made up almost entirely of homeowners, were concerned about lawlessness in their part of the community and their frustration with the city's efforts to curb it. About 1/2 when asked by a show of hands if they had witnessed young people "wandering" until after midnight in mass and being disruptive held up their hands. About a 1/10 had experienced "severe issues" such as property damage or other disturbances. What was of most concern were 6 reported cases of gunfire in the last year and 4 within the last month, as well as an increase in breaking and entering charges (43) this year and that crime generally was higher in their area than in all of others of the city.

According to Mastain, the seriousness of what is happening in their area of town is a "bigger issue than college kids binge drinking downtown." Many of the crowd expressed a frusttration that their area was not receiving more help because for the majority of Iowa Citians, it doesn't affect them.

They asked the Police Chief Hargadine if a curfew could be put in place. The chief explained that he recommended a delinquent behavior ordinance instead because of the enforcement issues of a curfew. When asked if the city council was considering this, Hargadine said it had not been formally brought to the council which elicited groans from the crowd.

Neighbors did commend the police department for having foot patrols in the community, but were concerned by the lack of coverage between 11 pm and 3 am due to policing calls from downtown bars. The Chief agreed that the force was spread thin, but did say if his office receives calls, his officers respond as quickly as they can. He did say that he was 15 officers short of the staff he felt he needed. A member of the audience asked the chief if residents in the area could assist the officers on patrol and Chief Hargadine encouraged the questioner to contact his office.

The neighbors commented on the amount of section 8 and public housing in their area. They mentioned the influx of out-of-state people showing up as unfair to Iowa City residents and Iowans who should receive top priority. They also mentioned the perception that people are being told to come here that there is a "billboard in Chicago advertising to come here." Mastain asked the person to bring proof of this. She said that property values are being devalued by the crime and presence of section 8 housing.

When pressed by Carol Kula, a high school teacher and resident in the area to give the crowd something concrete to take away from the meeting so they wouldn't feel like thy had "wasted their time being there," Mastain encouraged people to join their group and to go before city council on Tuesday night with their concerns. A neighbor mentioned that they should introduce themselves to their neighbors so that they would be able to know who was causing trouble in their neighborhood. Jarrod Gatlin said, "We need to know. Who are these kids?"

The organizers stressed that the meeting was about public safety, not the race of the kids involved in the crime problem, but stressed it was time for the neighbors to "make them uncomfortable; not allow them to make us uncomfortable."

As there were more than three members of the city council present, the members were not allowed to comment on the crowds concerns, but individually, the council members did stay after the meeting to listen and ask questions of those present.

As an observer, it was interesting to note the lack of renters at the meeting. I did speak to Royce Ann Porter briefly who heads a group called Iowa City Community School District Concerned Parents Committee who told me that her group represents low-income residents and has more to say. I'll follow up on this. I noted on the survey that was given to participants of the meeting that the questions were not specific to the type of respondent, but wonder if by the nature of it, only half the story is being told.

I hope that the BIT group will seek out input from the folks who were so clearly not present--I'd guess they would have a better outcome if they brought everyone together--more BITE, as it were.

Other accounts from the Press-Citizen and Gazette

Tale of Two Stories

In a disturbing local story, a homeless man was shot by an off-duty sheriff's deputy after allegedly stabbing a University of Iowa worker during a disagreement. According to police reports, "the deputy confronted the knife-wielding transient. The transient ignored the deputy's repeated commands to drop the knife. Instead, the armed transient advanced threateningly toward the already injured Iowa City resident and was shot by the deputy."

However, according to a story by Gazette reporters Adam Belz and Aaron Hepker, two eyewitnesses saw something quite different. According to their story "the 26-year-old homeless man was not wielding a knife and did not lunge at anyone, said Brock Brones and Mike Tibbetts, both of Iowa City."

Brones and Tibbetts, who both work for a telecommunications company, got off work Friday at 7 p.m. and drove with another co-worker to Old Capitol Brew Works to have a drink. As their vehicle was coming out of the alley next to City Electric, which was blocked by bags of cans and bottles and some broken glass, they saw the episode unfolding to their left and turned off the radio so they could hear what was going on.

A skinny black man was laying on the pavement with his head against the tire of a car about 40 feet away. He was missing teeth, his clothes were dirty, and he had blood on his torso. The deputy, wearing civilian clothes, had a gun pointed at the man, and a third man was standing next to the deputy telling him to shoot, Brones and Tibbetts said.

The homeless man on the ground appeared to be drunk. The deputy told him not to get up, or he would shoot, Brones and Tibbetts said.

"I don't give a f---," the homeless man responded.

The deputy repeated the threat, and ordered the man not to get up. Again, the homeless man said he didn't care. Then he stood up, put his arms out, and stumbled a few feet to the side before the deputy shot him in the chest from about 15 feet away, Brones and Tibbetts said.

The two men insist the homeless man had no knife when he was shot.

"There was no knife. There was no lunging," Tibbetts, of Iowa City, said."(The deputy) didn't try to talk him down. He shot him dead, right in front of my eyes."

Brones said the homeless man was wobbling and, though he disobeyed the deputy, he never made a threatening move.

"It wasn't aggressive," Brones said. "He was just drunk."

Police squad cars soon arrived, and the deputy, who Tibbetts said looked stunned, held up his badge for police to see.

Police have not identified either the deputy or the man he killed. Johnson County Sheriff Lonny Pulkrabek has declined to comment. The deputy has been placed on administrative leave.

“It’s just standard operating procedure following a traumatic incident such as this, until the outcome of the Iowa City police and DCI investigation,” said Sgt. Dan Quiles of the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office.

It started, police said, when a patron and his wife left the Hawkeye Hideaway on Prentiss Street and saw a 26-year-old man fiddling with bags of cans and bottles in the alley next to City Electric. An argument ensued, police said, and the 26-year-old, who is homeless, stabbed the patron, who friends identified as John Bohnenkamp, a University of Iowa maintenance worker and a regular at the Hawkeye Hideaway.

The deputy, who was not in uniform, drove by the scene in a tan-colored vehicle, police said, stopped, jumped out, drew his gun, and trained it on the homeless man.

From then on, the detailed account Tibbetts and Brones gave The Gazette is at odds with the police account, particularly in how it describes the moments before the deputy fired his gun.

"He could hardly stand," Brones said of the homeless man. "He was just wobbling."

Bohnenekamp underwent emergency surgery Friday night at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, and was released Saturday. Bohenenekamp has declined comment “Stop calling me, because I’m not going to say a word,” he said.

In a town that has been rife with racial tension and prejudice against the homeless, this story is likely to raise some questions. Hopefully there will be a fair, transparent investigation into the events that transpired.

Iowa City: Sanctuary City?

Iowa City has been a nuclear free zone, a free speech city, and hopefully a sanctuary city (if Father Rudy Juarez and other compassionate people have their way) where immigrant workers will not be hounded by the local police to do the work that ICE is responsible for to enforce antiquated federal law. As it stands, most of these workers are not taking jobs from hardworking Americans, but taking the jobs that most American workers are unwilling to do for the wages and conditions offered by employers.

If anything, immigrant workers willingly accept lower than fair wages to do mostly menial labor, in addition to living in fear of being turned in if they do not work off the clock if ordered, complain about job safety concerns, or don't turn the other cheek if harrassed by their employers.

When I lived in Corpus Christi, Texas I became intimately familiar with the practices of a large grocery chain that hired a large number of non-documented workers. Some of the stories of mistreatment I heard broke my heart, but it also gave me a sense of the decency of the people who were willing to take these jobs and thrive despite the challenges they experienced. A worker who was a highly trained engineer from Argentina and was working on his graduate degree at the local university there worked over 40 hours a week and received no benefits, vacation, or even sick days. Because his English skills were limited, he worked on an assembly line. He also repaired the line if it ever broke down. He did this for a wage that was under $6 an hour and felt lucky because he had started the job for less than $4 an hour in 1997.

What is a "Sanctuary City" and why isn't Iowa City one already? According to the Wikipedia, "a sanctuary city is a term given to a city in the United States that follows certain practices that protect illegal immigrants. These practices can be by law (de jure) or they can be by habit (de facto). The term generally applies to cities that do not allow municipal funds or resources to be used to enforce federal immigration laws, usually by not allowing police or municipal employees to inquire about one's immigration status. The designation has no legal meaning."

This is sort of an international good neighbor policy. If the person is living within the law in all other ways, the community is willing to look the other way about residency-status. This is a good thing as the law and fairness are not always intertwined. Some 31 American cities are sanctuary cities including Washington, D.C.; New York City; Los Angeles; Chicago; San Francisco; Santa Ana; San Diego; Salt Lake City; Phoenix; Dallas; Houston; Austin; Detroit; Jersey City; Minneapolis; Miami; Denver; Baltimore; Seattle; Portland, Oregon; New Haven, Connecticut; and Portland, Maine. They have adopted "sanctuary" ordinances banning city employees and police officers from asking people about their immigration status.

I will not argue for a minute that all guest workers are the salt of the earth. Certainly persons who commit serious crimes should not be allowed to be free here. But I do believe that people should have the right to take care of themselves and their families and that, for the most part, this is who the immigrant workers are.

There is a need for the federal government to revisit the policies and come up with some sort of common sense approach that allows these workers to come out of the shadows and gain legal status whether as guest workers or as residents. Until such approaches clear hurdles in the House and Senate and are signed into law, the fairest thing that we can do is to act locally to protect our fellow human beings from the injustice that comes from our broken system.

Culver in Iowa City For Jumpstart Bill Signing

According to the a press release from the governor's office via RIO (Rebuiding Iowa Office) Governor Chet Culver signed legislation today in iowa City to help homeowners affected by last year’s flood. Senate File 289 reduces the amount of time, from 10 years to 5 years, state-funded Jumpstart Iowa recipients must stay in their homes before their entire Jumpstart loan is forgiven.

“Last fall, when so many Iowans were struggling to recover from the floods and storms of 2008, state government took steps to help rebuild our state by creating the Jumpstart Iowa program, which included millions of dollars to help homeowners get back on their feet,” said Governor Culver. “With my signature, we are easing the administrative process on families and homeowners – to make this program more user-friendly, and to reduce the burdens loan recipients face. This is one of many steps we’ve collectively taken to rebuild Iowa and to help our state come out of the disaster of 2008 safer, stronger, and better.

In September, Governor Culver created the Jumpstart Program to help home and business owners affected by last year’s flooding and severe weather. One of the first major steps the State took to help homeowners and small businesses hurt by last year’s floods was to create the Jumpstart Business and Housing Initiative. Among Iowa’s small businesses, a total of 1,064 have applied for the program. 856 have been approved for Jumpstart assistance, and 677 have already received a check.

The second component – the Jumpstart Housing Program – provided homeowners 10 year forgivable loans for repairing their damaged structure or purchasing a new house; to date, a total of 2,471 homeowners have been approved for help. Jumpstart has obligated a total of $42.7 million, with an average award of $17,263 to Iowa homeowners. Under SF 289, Governor Culver and the legislature are helping homeowners by reducing the terms of these forgivable loans to 5 years. The legislation was passed unanimously by the House and Senate

Harassment Expert to Speak in Iowa City

The City of Iowa City Human Rights Division is sponsoring a presentation on Preventing Harassment in the Workplace. Tom Good, Training Specialist II with the State of Iowa Civil Rights Commission will be the presenter. Good is a graduate of Iowa State University and has worked for the Iowa Civil Rights Commission since 1990. He is a seasoned discrimination complaint investigator and mediator.

The purpose of the presentation is to educate participants on state and federal laws covering illegal employment related harassment. Sexual harassment is the focus of the presentation, but illegal harassment based upon any protected personal characteristic is included and explained.

There will be two sessions on Friday, April 24, one from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. and the other from 1 p.m. - 3 p.m. Both sessions will be held at the Iowa City Public Library Meeting Room A. The program is free and open to the public, but pre-registration is required.

To register for a session, visit www.icgov.org/humanrights. Please note registration is limited to the first 60 registrants. To receive more information regarding the presentation, or if you need special accommodations, please contact: The City of Iowa City Human Rights Division at 356-5022.