Is it possible to recall city councilors who want to ban almost everything? Can we put four (one doesn’t deserve it yet) on the same recall petition? Is there a way to prevent them from doing any more damage until we can get them recalled? It would be nice to spend a summer not worrying about what freedoms the city wants to take from us. – Tired of the Constant B.S.
Let’s take a moment to breathe. There’s no sense in hyperventilating over disposable bags.
And now for the irony. Treating hyperventilation involves breathing into a paper bag – which is the very thing our City Council wants to prohibit.
Remember, it’s not just about plastic bags. The city is about to embark on a dime “fee” (in other words, a tax) on all “disposable checkout bags at grocery stores.”
The proposed ordinance specifically states, “the term disposable checkout bag means a plastic or paper bag that is provided by a grocery store to a customer at the point of sale for the purpose of transporting groceries.”
Yes, the city wants to control how you carry celery, frozen pizza, paper towels and a quart of milk.
No wonder you have raised the “R” word, but a recall is not the answer for a City Council that has become distracted from more important municipal matters.
The proposed bag law will be discussed at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. Instead of threatening a recall, Action Line suggests attending that meeting and voicing your concerns.
Or you can send an email or call a city councilor. You can also drop off a letter to be read at the meeting.
But if you really want to “throw the bums out,” here’s how to start a recall.
The process is well defined and detailed. Go to the city’s official website, durangogov.org. Near the top of the page, put your cursor on the “Government” tab. A drop-down menu will appear.
Click “City Charter” and go to “Article VII. – Initiative, Referendum and Recall.”
You will need to gather a posse of five angry registered electors who will sign an affidavit along with “a general statement, in not more than one hundred (100) words, of the ground or grounds on which the recall is sought.”
Then you need to gather signatures. The law requires 20 percent of the total votes cast in the last municipal election.
That amounts to 689 malcontents, as there were 3,442 votes cast in April. Next, submit your signatures to the city clerk. If the signatures are validated, a recall vote would go to the people.
So there you go. If you are that mad, do what you think you must. However, allow Action Line to make a plea. Let’s stop trying to recall politicians with whom we don’t agree.
The process is a waste of time and costs money – both of which are in short supply these days. So is civil discourse.
We used to be able to disagree without being disagreeable. Compromise is neither evil nor a sign of weakness.
Also, do disposable bags, smoking bans and kelp-and-molasses weed-control schemes fall into the realm of high crimes and misdemeanors?
If you don’t like how your city representatives represent, then consider running for council. Or at bare minimum, exercise your right to exorcize in two years.
Remember, in the last election, a little more than a third (37 percent) of registered voters cast a ballot in the City Council elections.
Two-thirds of the people of Durango apparently don’t care who is driving the bus.
The problem is, the current bus is spewing exhaust that causes smug. Durango already has a smug problem.
So clear the air, and speak up if you don’t like Durango’s perplexing peregrination down the road of sanctimonious statecraft practiced by the likes of the People’s Republic of Boulder and the Independent Democratic Federation of Telluride.
Email questions to actionline@durangoherald.com or mail them to Action Line, The Durango Herald, 1275 Main Ave., Durango, CO 81301. You can request anonymity if you knew that by the city’s own estimate, the bag ‘fee’ will generate $364,000 in revenue, but the money can be spent only on administering a self-perpetuating bag outreach, education and mitigation program.
