The Kentucky and Irish experiences, when put side-by-side with those of New York, Boston, Florida and California as well as cities and counties in Minnesota, remove all excuses for any policymaker playing games with this issue. Here it is in a nutshell:
Utter paranoia over this taking place on their watch and panic over the unlikelihood that they cannot be reelected if they vote for this. Any phony data coming from vested interests like tobacco companies and smoking bar owners is a cover-up and delay tactic for what is already well known about smoking bans everywhere else. Everywhere else. When will elected officials get it: getting re-elected is not their reason for being and certainly not for their being elected in the first place. It sickens me that public policy is forever subjected to the "Can-I-get-re-elected-if-I-support-this" test. If that's your reason for voting on anything, then get out now. You're there for the wrong reason and you don't deserve to hold public office. You're elected to represent the people - all of the people, not just those who can afford to plant themselves outside your door and sit at your lunch table every day. Any elected official who whispers to me or makes it obvious that their re-election chances are jeopardized by voting for what's right for their constituents and the public interest, no matter how close we may be personally, will get my undying opposition for such re-election if they don't put that horrendous value aside and do the damned job they were elected to do. Yes, I've lost a few friends with this attitude. That's because those friends believe friendship and political cronyism supercedes responsibility and accountability in public office. And that, friends, is a nonpartisan view. I've lost far more Green and DFL friends over this posture, but this is non-debatable. Do your job, learn your craft and represent the people or you lose my support - and my vote if it's mine to cast. Get off the dime and invoke the policy that serves the people. Period. Ban smoking now. PS: A bit of irony: the late Jim Reiter was among a few people who stood outside City Hall smoking on a very regular basis while in office. Some of the people who smoked out there with him and considered him a friend, if not a political soulmate, are ready slow this process to a crawl or create compromises that compromise the public health. Reiter died from a failed heart - diseased beyond living in major part by his heavy smoking. Why is Reiter's ghost not haunting the halls of city policymakers? See paragraph one above. You lost one friend/colleague to this junk. How many more bodies are necessary to convince you otherwise? Andy Driscoll Crocus Hill/Ward 2 ------ on 6/20/04 12:00 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: [StPaul] Lexington kentucky smoking ban > > Last week, I went to national coference in Mississippi. The conference > center director told me that she is increasingly being asked about smoking > laws by people who plan conferences. She commonly hears people tell her > they won't schedule a conference in a place that can't promose clean air > for attendees. > > I met someone there from Kentucky, and she told me that Lexington had > banned public smoking. If Kentucky, in the heart of tobacco country, > can ban smoking in public places, why can't St Paul? > > From April, 2004: > (http://www.thelouisvillechannel.com/health/3031309/detail.html) > "The Kentucky Supreme Court Thursday upheld the ban on smoking in bars, > restaurants and many other public buildings in Lexington. > > "The ordinance drew national attention because of Kentucky's role as a > tobacco producer and its reputation as a smoker's state. > > "A third of Kentucky adults smoke, according to the federal Centers for > Disease Control and Prevention." > > A few other facts about Kentucky: > > ( http://www.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/aec/aec83/aec83.htm ) > � Kentucky farmers grow three types of tobacco: burley, dark fire-cured, > and dark air-cured. Burley tobacco, comprising more than 90% of total > production, is grown in 119 of Kentucky's 120 counties and is used > primarily in cigarettes. Dark fire-cured and dark air-cured production is > concentrated in 33 western Kentucky counties and is used primarily in > smokeless tobacco products such as snuff, chewing and pipe tobacco. The > value of tobacco production generally exceeds $1 million annually for more > than 100 Kentucky counties. > > � Kentucky is the nation's largest producer of burley tobacco and dark > fire- and air-cured tobaccos. Only North Carolina surpasses Kentucky in > tobacco production. > > � Kentucky is the most tobacco-dependent state in the United States. > Although North Carolina grows more tobacco than Kentucky, tobacco accounts > for a larger percentage of Ken-tucky's agricultural income. _____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/
