Seattle Press on Line - City Council candidates on the "civility" laws

City Council candidates on the "civility" laws

Sep 13, 2001 -- Seattle Press: What is your position on Mark Sidran’s legacy of “civility” laws (parks exclusion ordinance, no-sitting ordinance, vehicle impound law, utility pole poster ban)? What, if anything, would you do to change them?

Position 2

(incumbent, Richard Conlin)

Dakotta JK Alex: I would challenge and do my best to repeal the parks exclusion, no sitting, and vehicle impound law; I believe there is room for compromise for the poster ban.

James Egan: Mark Sidran may have been doing what was in his discretion as City Attorney, but the "civility laws" are really just damage control for a failure to address social ills earlier on in the lives of people that have no home except parks, or have no place to sit except the sidewalk. Ironically, social programs for people cost substantially less than throwing them in jail when they commit crimes predictable from a social science perspective.
As to the vehicle impound law, I believe if the city does this it should be required to work with unlicensed drivers to get their licenses back. This should include allowing regional management and consolidation of debts on tickets, which now does not exist. (For example, someone with outstanding infractions in collections in Burien, Shoreline and Seattle can only make time payments on the Seattle debt, and the Burien and Shoreline debt may rise incrementally to the point where it seems useless to try to re-establish and maintain a valid license. That should change.)
Although it appears to violate "free speech" I support the poster ban because posters are litter. Posters should be placed in places where they can be taken down and recycled.

Michael Preston: While no one is in favor of aggressive panhandling or public urination, most of these laws go too far. The way to clean up downtown is to provide drug and alcohol treatment, employment training and placement services, increase shelter services and maintain low income housing stock in Seattle.

Position 4

(incumbent, Jan Drago)

Jan Drago: I supported the “civility” laws. However, I would provide more amenities to make our business districts cleaner and more comfortable; more public restrooms, litter cans, benches, newspaper kiosks, information kiosks, water fountains and street trees.

Curt Firestone: The "civility laws" have unfairly targeted homeless, people of color and low income people. I plan to work with the new City Attorney to review each law and to remove all forms of discrimination. In each and every instance, we must create resources which protect civil and human rights. If we say no posting of announcements on light poles, then we must provide kiosks in all areas. No public urination calls for public restrooms. No sitting on sidewalks calls for benches. One cannot go without the other.

Susan Harmon: Anyone should be able to sit on the sidewalk. I do not like the new look of the old time vagrancy laws. However, the utility pole ban occurred because some individuals did not behave responsibly. I'd rewrite it so only those who behave irresponsibly are impacted.

Position 8

(incumbent, Richard McIver)

Grant Cogswell: I oppose the spirit of the "civility" laws, which are anything but civil. I would support and perhaps spearhead an attempt to repeal them.

Stan Lippmann: Mark Sidran didn't make the laws, the City Council and the Mayor did. Nonetheless, the laws are too restrictive of Constitutional rights and should be amended. The poster ban has hurt the music scene and can safely be repealed. The auto impound law is too severe.

Richard McIver: I voted against these ordinances and continue to believe that they disproportionately target minorities and those of low income. I believe that other ordinances provide sufficient law enforcement tools to address problems of drinking in parks. I also believe arrangements made with the courts for time payments of traffic fines are more appropriate than the seizure of vehicles that are often crucial for employment.

Heath Merriwether: I would move to repeal these laws as they target minorities and the poor. This city needs to start looking at the reasons behind these laws instead of making them illegal. Instead of the no public urination law we should look at more public toilets. The impound law should instead look at helping people pay off the fines due based on income level. The poster ban addresses a safety concern on wooden utility poles but once again oversteps the rights of citizens instead of limited restrictions to wooden utility poles only.
Once again, I would move to repeal all these laws and work with the new City Attorney to make sure any legislation is constitutional and would not violate any one group’s rights.

Jerome Wilson: The "civility" laws are a sham. They're selectively enforced and used to beat up on the little guy. Rather than go after the power players in the Nordstrom's parking garage scam—we’re talking corruption here that cost Seattle taxpayers tens of millions of dollars—City Attorney Sidran chose to target the working poor (vehicle impound law), the homeless (parks exclusion, no-sitting) and local artists and garage-sale enthusiasts (poster ban). I'd work to repeal them.

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