During what can only be described as a bizarre meeting, Easton City Council voted 4-3 last night to end Council member Frank Pintabone's proposal to decriminalize possession of a small amount of marijuana. Voting No were Mayor Sal Panto and Council members Taiba Sultana (she actually abstaine, effectively a No), Roger Riggles and Kenny Brown. Voting Yes were Pintabone, joined by Council members Crystal Rose and Jim Edinger.
At the onset, Lehigh Valley Justice Institute Executive Director Joe Welsh, who happens to be a resident of Easton's west ward, told Council that one of six cases filed in court involve marijuana charges, clogging the courts and diverting resources from real crime. More troubling a person is 6.4 times more likely to be charged with a marijuana offense if he happens to be black. He was echoed by Julie Zando-Dennis and Susan Hartranft Bittenger, both of whom are running for city council. A local downtown business owner joined the chorus of support.
No one from the public spoke against the proposal.
During a committee hearing just a few weeks before, Sultana said, "This is something that should have been done years ago." She went on to claim marijuana "is not a drug" and went on to say there should be no fine at all. Mayor Panto spoke in support of the ordinance but said the fine should be high to deter people from smoking in public.
That was then.
Last night, both of them suddenly switched.
Sultana kicked things off with a "heavy heart," saying that the ordinance needed to be tabled because she had heard "allegations" against an unnamed "official" and needed to investigate them first. Hmmm. While going door to door seeking signatures for her latest nomination petition, Sultana actually accused one unnamed (and elected) official of being a drug dealer. This unnamed and elected official knows about this libel because the very people that Sultana solicited immediately called this person.
Despite this baseless smear, Sal Panto seconded the motion to table. The very ordinance he supported on February 25 was now suddenly objectionable because he now feels that decriminalize should come from the state, even though 17 municipalities have already decriminalized marijuana.
Once a motion to table is made and seconded, Robert's Rules clearly provide that discussion ends and the matter is supposed to be voted on immediately. But the discussion continued, and even Solicitor Joel Scheer joined in the discussion instead of instructing them that they need to vote.
After several unnecessary minutes of discussion, a vote on the motion to table was taken and failed in a 4-3 vote. Panto, Ruggles and Sultana voted Yes while Edinger, Brown, Pintabone and Rose voted No.
On the merits, Ruggles said that this was a matter for the state, not Easton. He said that anyone who supported decriminalization would be violating an oath to uphold state law. He added that police officers take the same oath and would face a dilemma whether to enforce state or city law.
This argument is illogical. City Council members and even police officers take no oath that requires them to enforce every statute on the books. City Council members legislate and play no role in enforcement. And police officers who do enforce laws have what is known as prosecutorial discretion. If they charged every violation, things could get out of hand very quickly because we have same pretty strange laws, including a law that requires a child's bedroom to be within 200' of a bathroom. Under Ruggles' interpretation, every driver who goes 26 mph in a 25 mph zone should be ticketed. That's absurd.
Pintabone countered that the state has never argued that its laws concerning marijuana pre-empt the decriminalization in 17 municipalities that have voted to do so.
In fact, the state has actually encouraged civil instead of criminal remedies for some vehicle violations. I personally think that a driver who passes a school bus with flashing lights should pay the heaviest fine possible and be assessed points. But guess what? Under the AlertBus school safety program, which operates in Easton, it's a mere civil fine. Money trumps the safety of children, I guess.
Once again, Solicitor Joel Scheer piped up and injected his personal views instead of advising on the law.
In fairness, Ruggles has consistently held the view that decriminalization of marijuana is the province of the state legislature. So has Ken Brown. But Panto and Sultana did about-faces. Sultana is just trying to smear someone. Panto has always had a tendency to say one thing and do another.
Economic Times reports
1 comment:
Pitabone in way over his head, glad they voted to do the right thing and keep illegal items illegal. Good job Easton council
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