Sep11 |
 |
T-Minus 3 Days ‘Til Street Doesn’t Sign Smoking Ban
We’re in the home stretch now! D-Day is Thursday, the day John Street must decide whether to sign the smoking ban, a move that appears fairly unlikely. (I think if he takes no action, it also becomes law, but the Home Rule Charter is written in Klingon, so it’s a little hard to figure out.) Street’s opposition to the bill, I think, is due to his strict libertarianism and his wish that all restaurant owners should be able to decide their own policies as to whether you can enjoy a legal product in their establishment. Wait, or is it because he’s pissed that outdoor cafes are exempt? Or is it because the bill’s sponsor, Michael Nutter, has left council to run for mayor, and that somehow means that the legislation is dead? Oh, wait, it’s because John Street doesn’t want Michael Nutter to take credit for it, and what better way to do so than by vetoing the legislation! He doesn’t say this, of course, but it’s pretty easy to see and even easier to infer in news articles. But: Wouldn’t it be great if John Street just came out and said that? “Yeah, I’m vetoing the bill because I don’t want Michael Nutter to be able to take credit for it during the mayoral race.” It’d be the first instance of honesty in Philadelphia politics in the city’s history. And it’d be totally awesome. John Street totally needs to do this. I think everyone can agree a little bit of smelly clothes is well worth the absolute hilarity of Street being actually honest about this. It’s your move, Johnny. You have three days. Will Phila.’s Proposed Smoking Ban Go Down in Flames? [KYW 1060] |
|
|
|
I miss the sparkiley letters.
I love snarky comments just as much as the next guy but…what you’re saying actually isn’t true.
Street has had the same issue with the bill (that being the tavern/outdoor cafe “exception”) since it was reintroduced.
Nutter’s original vision didn’t fly because business owner’s would’t stand for it. Regardless, Nutter’s original vision is how the bill should be written. Nutter wants it that way and Street wants it that way (and so do I). But we can’t have it that way.
Street has been telling the whole city about his issues with the bill since long before Nutter’s announced his candidacy. In fact, I think what’s obvious is that Nutter only went crazy pushing this bill for so long because he wanted to use it as a crutch in the mayoral campaign he was planning.
Yeah! That guy named Ballz is right!