Pubdate: Thu, 04 Nov 2004 Source: Contra Costa Times (CA) Copyright: 2004 Knight Ridder Contact: http://www.contracostatimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/96 Author: Guy Ashley, Contra Costa Times Cited: Measure Z ( www.yesonz.org ) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Measure+Z Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis - California) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization) OAKLAND VOTERS BACK TWO MARQUEE BALLOT MEASURES OAKLAND - The city's two marquee ballot measures won Tuesday night, but some observers say the results send a mixed message and leave a lingering divide on how to throttle Oakland's crime problem. Voters gave strong support to Measure Y, which will raise about $20 million a year through a parcel tax and increased parking fees to pay for 63 more police officers and violence prevention measures. The vote smashed the two-thirds majority needed for passage by winning nearly 70 percent support, ending a run in which two similar ballot measures stumbled at the polls in recent years. Although voters answered the call to help Oakland's overextended police force, they brushed aside local law enforcement wishes by supporting Measure Z, which set recreational marijuana use by adults as the city's lowest law enforcement priority. Measure Z calls on local government to lobby against laws prohibiting private pot use by adults, and to develop plans to license and tax the sale, use and cultivation of pot for private use "as soon as possible under California law." The measure received 64 percent of the vote. "The people of Oakland recognize the drug war is a failure," said Joe DeVries, leader of the Z campaign. "They are saying loud and clear that locking up cannabis offenders is not a priority." But Ignacio De La Fuente, president of the City Council, said it is wrong to move toward sanctioning any illegal drug use when the city struggles with violent crime, much of it involving the drug trade. "The outside perception of Oakland is that we're the drug capital of the world," De La Fuente said. "This does nothing to help that." Following a brief lull during the late 1990s, the rate of Oakland homicides and other violent crimes has seen a resurgence in recent years, prompting Mayor Jerry Brown and other city officials to explore ways to stifle it. Brown has touted new approaches, like a mandatory re-entry program for residents newly released from prison and a curfew for parolees. But the famously unconventional mayor has embraced a conventional war on crime as well, fighting for years to pay for more cops in a city whose police force is chronically understaffed. Twice in the past two years, however, Brown-backed ballot measures seeking more cops have been rejected at the polls. Voters supported Measure FF in 2002, which called for 100 new cops, but an accompanying tax measure to pay for it was turned down. De La Fuente said the concept was sold to voters as a "balanced approach" toward crime-fighting that earmarks nearly as much money for violence-prevention programs, especially those targeting youths, as it does for bolstered law enforcement. "We need violence prevention," he said. "At the same time, we need as many cops as we can get." The cannabis measure met strong resistance at City Hall, where it was opposed by some council members, and city legal staff members assert key provisions are unconstitutional. DeVries said he is hopeful city officials will heed the voters' will and work to make sure it is enforced. First up will be creation of an 11-person advisory group to guide efforts to implement it. "This law is not just symbolic," he said. "There are several concrete steps that need to be taken so that the wishes of 65 percent of the voters are followed." - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake