Pubdate: Thu, 04 Jun 2015
Source: Press-Enterprise (Riverside, CA)
Copyright: 2015 The Press-Enterprise Company
Contact: http://www.pe.com/localnews/opinion/letters_form.html
Website: http://www.pe.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/830

ANTI-MARIJUANA FORCES PREVAIL IN RIVERSIDE

The preliminary election results for the city of Riverside are in. 
Voters overwhelmingly backed incumbent Mike Gardner and newcomer John 
Burnard to the City Council, while voting down medical marijuana 
dispensaries in the city.

While these pages did not endorse any candidate, we appreciate the 
candidacies of the winners and their challengers, Tom Podgorski and 
Alysia Webb.

It is somewhat unfortunate that the other two council members up for 
reelection, Mike Soubirous and Chris MacArthur, went unchallenged and 
that the vast majority of potential voters didn't cast ballots. 
Preliminary returns indicated that less than 20 percent of registered 
voters returned their ballots.

For such a large city to have such little input and participation 
from the community only makes it harder to hold government 
accountable and ensure appropriate discussions are had about the 
future of the city.

We hope new Ward 7 Councilman Burnard effectively uses his experience 
as a business owner in helping craft the city's governance.

On the campaign trail, Mr. Burnard emphasized the need to make the 
city more welcoming to business, while emphasizing a commitment to 
the fundamentals of city governments, like improving city streets.

The rejection of Measure A, which would have allowed a limited number 
of medical marijuana dispensaries in the city, is an unfortunate 
development in that it shows Riverside voters still wish to use the 
force of government to keep marijuana sales confined to the black market.

In the lead up to the vote, it was apparent that city officials and 
civic leaders resorted to scare tactics and falsehoods to campaign 
against the measure.

Claims about crime increases, threats to children and even a serious 
disruption to the city's economy were all invoked by marijuana 
opponents. Evidently, dishonesty and fear-mongering remain potent 
political tools.

While there remained some votes left to count, none of the results 
was expected to significantly change.

With the election essentially over, it is back to business for city 
government. As always, we hope the council continues to hold the best 
interests of the city in mind, focus on the basics and keeps 
government as lean and effective as possible.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom