cannabisnews.com: Write-In Mayoral Candidate Has 1 Issue: Decrim Pot





Write-In Mayoral Candidate Has 1 Issue: Decrim Pot
Posted by FoM on October 04, 1999 at 06:05:31 PT
By Rhonda Bodfield Sander 
Source: Arizona Daily Star 
Let's face it. There's only so much you can do to jive up those campaign signs. Dave Croteau, who launched his write-in candidacy for mayor last week, thinks he might have hit on something. He'll have only one sign in this campaign. 
It's all he can afford. But it's bound to be noticed. And it's bound to create a buzz, so to speak. The 4-foot-tall sign has a big green marijuana leaf on it, with the words ``Tax it'' in black letters, along with his name. The 48-year-old church maintenance worker and native Tucsonan said he would push for the decriminalization of marijuana so government could regulate it and make money on its sale. And Croteau has a view on Central Arizona Project water you won't hear the other candidates espousing. He would like to use it to help farmers grow hemp, which could be used not only for clothing and fiber bales for home construction, but also for oil and paints, he said. Croteau is unapologetic about being a one-issue candidate in this race. ``The cost of enforcing our drug laws is very high,'' said Croteau, citing growing costs of law enforcement, prosecution and incarceration. Those resources could be better spent fighting violent crime, he said. ``To me, it makes a lot more sense to let a person in his own house sit around and get stoned and be non-productive than for someone to sit around in a jail cell and cost the rest of us thousands of dollars so he can be non-productive,'' he said. A father of five children, ranging in age from 6 to 13, Croteau said he would restrict minors from using marijuana, just as they are restricted from buying tobacco or alcohol. Croteau only has $500 to promote his message, hence the one sign that he is posting today at East Broadway and Tyndall Avenue. Four years ago, Croteau switched his party registration from Democratic to the Green Party, unhappy that the two major parties would not entertain decriminalization. Generally, the decriminalization issue is a big one for the Libertarian Party, but Libertarian Ed Kahn is not a proponent. The Green Party didn't float a mayoral candidate this year, said state Co-chair Carolyn Campbell, because with the party's limited resources, it didn't make sense to challenge Democrat Molly McKasson, who ``is good on environmental and social justice issues.'' Croteau has long been active in community politics, although this is his first bid for office. In the early 1990s, he headed the Rincon Heights Neighborhood Association and was past chairman of a nine-neighborhood coalition that worked with the University of Arizona and the city on resident concerns. He moved to the West University neighborhood six years ago and currently sits on its board. He has also been an appointee to the city's small-business commission and the citizen's advisory board on police matters, and is now the chairman of the parent resource committee at Roskruge Bilingual Middle School. His stance is one that raised a few eyebrows at his church, he acknowledges. And it does take a certain amount of courage to expose his own drug use, he said. He was arrested only once, in 1972, for possession of a joint and three roach clips. But, he said, he sees growing support nationally for the issue. Not only did state voters recently say marijuana should be legal for medicinal purposes, but the highest-ranking Reform Party member, Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura, has promoted decriminalization. Republican New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson also came out recently in support of legalization, although he said he had no plans to push any such legislation. By the way, for those of you who think the campaign sign would be a neat addition to your home decor, remember this: It's a misdemeanor to tamper with a political sign. Monday, 4 October 1999The Arizona Daily Star Online 
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Post Comment


Name: Optional Password: 
E-Mail: 
Subject: 
Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message]
Link URL: 
Link Title: