Council Weighs In on Proposition 47 and Collection Bins

The City Council unanimously voted to adopt a resolution opposing California Proposition 47 last Tuesday night. The vote of opposition comes on the heels of a similar vote by the LA City Council where that body voiced support for the measure. The measure would re-classify petty crimes such as shoplifting or theft where the value is less than $950 as misdemeanors rather than felonies. It would also require misdemeanor sentencing instead of felony for certain drug possession offenses. Under the initiative about 10,000 current inmates would be allowed to apply for resentencing in accordance with the new guidelines.

In addition to the LA City Council, the proposition was also recently endorsed by the LA Times. Other proponents include the California Democratic Party, the League of Women Voters, the ACLU of California, and labor groups like the California Teachers Association. The measure has also drawn support from conservative politicians and businessman like Newt Gingrich and B. Wayne Hughes Jr. A recent poll also showed strong support for the measure among voters indicating it will likely pass with 62% in favor and only 25% against.

In backing the proposition the LA Times stated that, “Opponents offer arguments that are familiar for their fear-mongering tactics but are new in some of their particulars: baseless yet ominous warnings that waves of dangerous criminals will be released; odd predictions about, of all things, date rape.” These so called “fear-mongering” tactics were exactly those offered by the Torrance Police Department and the City Attorney’s office at the Council meeting. Resident Lloyd Brown spoke out against these scare tactics at the meeting and offered his opinion that the proposition was a good law.

In voicing his opposition to Proposition 47, Mayor Furey expressed concern that the measure would allow the early release of convicted felons. He commented that released criminals come to Torrance to “shop” at the homes of residents by stealing their property. Former Torrance Police Officer and current Councilmember Geoff Rizzo was much more forceful. In a strongly worded statement he claimed that the proposition “decriminalized behavior,” that it would allow “deviant behavior to become the norm,” and that it was “not something we should accept in a civilized society.”

Rizzo’s strong opposition is not surprising given that many police groups have united to oppose the initiative and that politicians, especially in Torrance, are loathe to support anything that may be viewed as soft on crime. Still, the unanimous vote of opposition including that of progressive politicians on the Council like Goodrich is curious as the measure seems to have garnered wide support from the democratic political base.

The Council also heard input from the community on Collection Bins. The Council had previously imposed a moratorium prohibiting the placement of new bins within the City until November 15^th, 2014. The staff report acknowledged, however, that during the 10 month moratorium period that the amount of bins within the City increased substantially. Julie Dover, the Chief Operating Officer of Goodwill, spoke out against the bins claiming that unregulated for profit businesses were taking advantage of the Goodwill brand and hampering legitimate non-profit enterprises that served the poor. Representatives from two different collection bin operators offered their view that the bins encouraged recycling and diverted items from the waste stream resulting in less recyclables ending up in the landfill.

Councilmember Ashcraft made an animated argument against the bins expressing her belief that the projected total of upwards of 350 bins would blight the community and that she already sees too much junk. She thought residents would be better served using attended locations such as the Salvation Army.

Councilmember Weideman admitted that he initially thought the bins should be prohibited in the City but that he has since been persuaded by a remark made by Mayor Furey that it’s better to appropriately regulate than prohibit. He then suggested they table the item until the end of October giving City Staff more time to work on appropriate regulations such as how many bins should be allowed, how far apart they should be, what should be the maximum size, how often operators should be required to clean them, and what the fees should be. In a perplexing move, despite voicing strong objections to the bins Councilmember Ashcraft joined the rest of the Council in voting for the staff to draw up regulations that would allow the bins.

At the conclusion of the meeting Mayor Furey asked the Council’s concurrence for the City of Torrance to join the USA Conference of Mayors. Joining the group would cost the City upwards of $12,000 a year.