PETITION AND POT

Chico City Council Takes Two of the City's Hottest
Issues

Jim Walker is a contemplative city leader, someone who's not easily
provoked. And, while he didn't lose his temper Tuesday evening (March
1) during the Chico City Council's regular meeting, he certainly
relayed his anger related to one item on the agenda.

Walker described walking out of a local grocery store and being
approached by a signature gatherer who asked him to sign a petition
calling for "fair elections in Chico." However, that petition was
actually part of the effort to move the City Council elections from
the November general election to June. Walker recalled his nostrils
flaring in response to the gatherer, who he said misrepresented the
intent of the petition. He was outraged then and clearly remains so.

"Since that time, I can't tell you how angry I've been that this has
moved forward," he said.

Walker was referring to an item on the agenda that asked the panel to
set a date for a citywide election on the matter. City Clerk Debbie
Presson explained that a random count of the petition signatures by
the Butte County Clerk/Recorder's Office found enough valid ones to
qualify it as a ballot measure.

Stephanie Taber, a regular council attendee and member of Chico Tea
Party Patriots, is the face behind the endeavor. She began organizing
the effort back in August, and was given 180 days to come up with the
necessary signatures.

Based on recent campaign statements, she had a lot of
help.

The reports, filed last month by Thomas Dauterman, show the Chico
businessman, owner of Thomas Welding and Machine Inc., paid $31,500
from early September to mid-December to Carl Towe, the owner of
high-profile Towe and Associates Petition Management, a professional
petitioning company. Dauterman is a longtime supporter of conservative
politicians; he contributed several thousand dollars prior to
November's general election to the campaigns of council candidates Bob
Evans and Mark Sorensen, as well as that of Larry Wahl, who in June
defeated long-time Butte County Supervisor Jane Dolan.

During the meeting, Councilwoman Mary Flynn noted Taber's use of the
company, to which City Attorney Lori Barker quickly responded that
hiring such a firm is perfectly legal. Flynn, too, related an
encounter similar to the one described by Walker, as did a couple
members of the public who spoke on the issue.

One of them, Charlie Preusser, a longtime Chicoan, called the
initiative "a blatant attempt to disenfranchise students." Several
speakers echoed him, noting that the many local college students who
leave town in the summer will not have the opportunity to head to
their local precincts. Proponents, however, have consistently pointed
out that students can vote absentee.

Other speakers opposing the initiative had another theory. David Welch
pointed out that the turnout during a general election is much greater
than in June. County figures back him up; 25,000 more Butte County
voters headed to the polls this past November than during June's
primary. The disparity was greater in 2008, when 57,000 more residents
headed to the polls in November over June. High voter turnout is a
good thing for the process, Welch said.

He charged that the petition is really about helping candidates who
haven't been able to win elections under the current system, and he
noted that higher numbers of conservative voters tend to turn out
during the primaries.

"I think that's profoundly undemocratic and un-American to change the
game," he said.

What makes the initiative ironic is that Taber fancies herself a
fiscal watchdog. Yet placing the measure on the ballot, according to
Presson, will cost the city $78,000 in general-fund monies, at
minimum. That's if it can be consolidated with Gov. Jerry Brown's
expected statewide special election. And if the voters pass it, the
city-that is, taxpayers-will incur recurring costs. According to a
staff report, the county clerk estimates that holding City Council
elections in June of next year will cost $73,000 more than it would in
November. (Taber did not return a message from the CN&R as of press
time.)

Eventually, the panel voted unanimously to schedule the election for
June 7, hoping for a consolidation with the predicted statewide
election. The council can change the date, should the governor choose
to hold the election on another day. A special election will occur in
the absence of a statewide election, and it will include traditional
precinct voting, the council decided.

Other news during the evening included several hours of discussion on
the city's draft ordinance related to medical-marijuana dispensaries,
as well as cultivation and processing. The panel had to extend the
meeting twice to allow time for debate on the topics in order to give
city staff direction on its next move.

The vast majority of the 19 people who spoke on the issue extolled the
benefits of medical cannabis and the need for dispensaries. Proponents
repeatedly called for safe access to the herb, while opponents,
including District Attorney Mike Ramsey, charged that the industry is
riddled with fraud.

One of the questions for the council was whether cultivation and
distribution should be conducted on-site, in a "closed-loop" fashion.
Another was whether the panel should place a fixed limit on the number
of dispensaries. They also considered whether the permitting of
potential facilities should be subject to a discretionary process.

As during previous meetings on the topic, confusion at times reigned
during the discussions, especially around 10:30 p.m., when fatigue
appeared to set in.

For example, not every council member fully grasped the concept of a
closed-loop dispensary. That became clear when the panel voted for a
type of system in which the plants are grown on-site, and then minutes
later voted in favor of a system that also would allow the
dispensaries' members to grow at various satellite locations.

Councilman Mark Sorensen voiced frustration over what he deemed
contradictory actions. "We might as well take the whole ordinance and
set it on fire," he said at one point.

When it came to the discussion about limiting the number of
dispensaries, Councilman Andy Holcombe lobbied to allow the free
market to decide, noting that city staff estimated a maximum of 10
dispensaries could open based on land-use restrictions in the
ordinance. Mayor Ann Schwab was the only one to support that idea,
however, and moments later Flynn called for the number of dispensaries
to be limited to two.

Her subsequent motion passed by a vote of 6-1, with Schwab dissenting.
Doing so, explained Sorensen after the meeting, automatically meant
that the permitting process would be discretionary.

City staff will include those changes in the proposed ordinance, which
will come back to the council in the coming months.