From the Indianapolis Star:
Tully: It's time to pass a stronger smoking ban | The Indianapolis Star | indystar.com
Here's a super challenge for this city: Let's put an enhanced smoking ban in place before visitors arrive for Super Bowl XLVI.
The soon-to-be Democratic majority on the City-County Council, along with newly re-elected Republican Mayor Greg Ballard, should act quickly to adopt a smoking ban worthy of a city that is worthy of hosting the nation's most high-profile sporting event.
This would be quite a chore -- like Peyton Manning rushing his team down the field for a winning score with two minutes left in the game. There simply isn't much time. The new council does not take office until Jan. 1, and an ordinance likely could not pass sooner than the body's Jan. 23 meeting.
The Super Bowl, meanwhile, is just 86 days away, and visitors and media types from around the world will arrive in late January for the Feb. 5 game. So, yes, this would require a uniquely rushed effort. It could be hectic, but it would be long overdue.
The city has dawdled and debated for years. It has taken baby steps and held a long series of meetings and conversations. So a mad dash at the end is both appropriate and necessary. For too long, our city leaders have flipped and flopped and worried about political ramifications as other cities nationwide -- both big and small -- have passed more thoughtful and thorough smoking bans.
Indy's current ban, which exempts bars and a few other businesses, is an embarrassment to the city and a hindrance to those who work to lure convention visitors from cities and states that long ago accepted the need to snuff out workplace smoking. Even opponents of smoking bans have quieted of late, having realized that bans actually improve business and create a level playing field for bars. Still, the efforts of the tobacco industry and the status quo always lurk quietly underground.
Here's the good news: Democratic Councilwoman Angela Mansfield has an ordinance drafted and ready, and she is laying the groundwork to get it through the council by Jan. 23. She has the votes, including some from the GOP, and her goal is to send the mayor a law that he's willing to sign. It would take effect the minute he signs it. Mansfield would exempt tobacco stores, and she is working to persuade anti-smoking advocates to accept a request from the mayor, a retired Marine, that veterans halls also be exempted.
Without that exemption, the mayor would surely veto the ordinance, and visitors from around the world would spend a week wondering why Indianapolis has such a backwater anti-smoking ordinance.
This is a health issue. Those who work in the city's bars shouldn't be forced to suffer the ravages of secondhand smoke. But a stronger ban also would send a civic message, Mansfield said.
"This city is going to be highlighted and studied during the Super Bowl week," she said. "This is about economic development and showing that we are a city that is healthy."
The mayor's spokesman said Ballard is open to signing a stronger smoking ban, though he also said the ban should exempt hookah bars and cigar bars. That likely will be the focus of the battle in coming weeks.
In the end, that area of difference between the two sides is relatively small. The upside to passing this ordinance quickly, though, is huge. And it would be super.
Reach Matthew Tully at (317) 444-6033 or via email at matthew.tully@indystar.com
Tully: It's time to pass a stronger smoking ban | The Indianapolis Star | indystar.com
Here's a super challenge for this city: Let's put an enhanced smoking ban in place before visitors arrive for Super Bowl XLVI.
The soon-to-be Democratic majority on the City-County Council, along with newly re-elected Republican Mayor Greg Ballard, should act quickly to adopt a smoking ban worthy of a city that is worthy of hosting the nation's most high-profile sporting event.
This would be quite a chore -- like Peyton Manning rushing his team down the field for a winning score with two minutes left in the game. There simply isn't much time. The new council does not take office until Jan. 1, and an ordinance likely could not pass sooner than the body's Jan. 23 meeting.
The Super Bowl, meanwhile, is just 86 days away, and visitors and media types from around the world will arrive in late January for the Feb. 5 game. So, yes, this would require a uniquely rushed effort. It could be hectic, but it would be long overdue.
The city has dawdled and debated for years. It has taken baby steps and held a long series of meetings and conversations. So a mad dash at the end is both appropriate and necessary. For too long, our city leaders have flipped and flopped and worried about political ramifications as other cities nationwide -- both big and small -- have passed more thoughtful and thorough smoking bans.
Indy's current ban, which exempts bars and a few other businesses, is an embarrassment to the city and a hindrance to those who work to lure convention visitors from cities and states that long ago accepted the need to snuff out workplace smoking. Even opponents of smoking bans have quieted of late, having realized that bans actually improve business and create a level playing field for bars. Still, the efforts of the tobacco industry and the status quo always lurk quietly underground.
Here's the good news: Democratic Councilwoman Angela Mansfield has an ordinance drafted and ready, and she is laying the groundwork to get it through the council by Jan. 23. She has the votes, including some from the GOP, and her goal is to send the mayor a law that he's willing to sign. It would take effect the minute he signs it. Mansfield would exempt tobacco stores, and she is working to persuade anti-smoking advocates to accept a request from the mayor, a retired Marine, that veterans halls also be exempted.
Without that exemption, the mayor would surely veto the ordinance, and visitors from around the world would spend a week wondering why Indianapolis has such a backwater anti-smoking ordinance.
This is a health issue. Those who work in the city's bars shouldn't be forced to suffer the ravages of secondhand smoke. But a stronger ban also would send a civic message, Mansfield said.
"This city is going to be highlighted and studied during the Super Bowl week," she said. "This is about economic development and showing that we are a city that is healthy."
The mayor's spokesman said Ballard is open to signing a stronger smoking ban, though he also said the ban should exempt hookah bars and cigar bars. That likely will be the focus of the battle in coming weeks.
In the end, that area of difference between the two sides is relatively small. The upside to passing this ordinance quickly, though, is huge. And it would be super.
Reach Matthew Tully at (317) 444-6033 or via email at matthew.tully@indystar.com
