On Monday night the Fairfield City Council voted down two resolutions presented by JFAN asking the state legislature to pass (1) a moratorium on new hog confinement construction statewide, and (2) legislation allowing Local Control of hog confinement siting in Iowa communities and counties. The votes were close, especially on Local Control, which was 3 to 3 (a tie counts as a loss).
We're glad our elected officials are now more aware of the community's concerns, and better informed about the problem. And we have just begun. We will revisit the Local Control issue with them again after the fall elections--or possibly sooner.
This makes the Letter-Writing Campaign more important than ever! Our Board of Supervisors will vote next, and they will receive a copy of every letter written in the campaign. Please write your letter today, or sign one at the boxes around town!
The deadline has been extended to Monday, Feb. 20. Our success depends 100% on our numbers, so your participation is essential! Thanks!
JFAN Board
Jefferson County Farmers and Neighbors, Inc.
www.jfaniowa.org
p.s. See Sample Letter below-- you can copy into a Word doc, modify if you want, sign, type or print your name and address, and take to one of the drop-off boxes around town (Revelations, Everybody's, 21st Century, etc.)
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More information on the Council votes:
Mayor Ed Malloy made a summation after the vote, saying, in essence, that the City needs to keep a very close eye on this issue and that there is concern with what is happening on the Walpello County/Jefferson County border with two proposed hog factory farms of 4000+ sows each.
The vote on the resolutions was as follows:
Moratorium Local Control
Ron Adams No No
Connie Boyer No No
Christie Welty No No
Daryn Hamilton No Yes
John Revolinski Yes Yes
Jim Rubis Yes Yes
Myron Gookin was absent.
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SAMPLE LETTER:
February __ , 2006
Representative Jack Drake – Chairman, House Agricultural Committee
Senator Gene Fraise – Co-chairman, Senate Agricultural Committee
Senator David Johnson – Co-chairman, Senate Agricultural Committee
State Capitol
Des Moines, IA 50319
RE: Fair democracy means legislation for local control of factory farms
Dear Representative Drake and Senators Fraise and Johnson:
As a resident of Iowa I am extremely concerned about the threat of factory farms coming into my area. I have heard enough horror stories of people whose lives have been forever changed for the worse because of a factory farm going into their area to know that I want my local county, with citizen input, to have the final say as to whether a factory farm will be permitted or not.
More than any other legislators, you are in a position to see that a strong local control bill comes before the House and Senate for a vote. It’s time to put aside the interests of a few businessmen and give local Iowans their rightful democratic due concerning the location of factory farms. The people they affect are the ones who should have the final say. That’s real democracy like our forefathers envisioned.
Sincerely,
(Signature) _________________________________________
(Printed or Typed Name) ________________________________
(Address) __________________________________________
Cc: Governor Tom Vilsack
Representative John Whitaker
Senator David Miller
Jefferson County Board of Supervisors
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