Group not just young and restless

I would like to take this opportunity to clarify a few

misconceptions. First of all, we at FreeNewport! are not “fighting

the city’s moves to curb crime.” We are not pro-riot, pro-crime,

pro-urinating-in-public, for that matter. We are not even

pro-party-all-the-time! Furthermore, we are not all young male

renters, either.

So what are we then? We are simply a group of West Newport

residents (young and old) who are tired of being overlooked by our

City Council. Our supporters come in all ages, dwellings, and income

brackets.

This whole Fourth of July ordinance process is a good example of

how we are overlooked. Let’s review:

1) They formed a Fourth of July committee that they didn’t promote

(unless you include their bulletin board).

2) The committee only included one resident below the age of 45.

3) With this survey, they also included a very slanted letter by

Homer Bludau, our city manager, that basically stated that it’s only

a matter of time before a riot breaks out, so what are you going to

do about it?

4) They sent the survey to all registered voters in the area, not

necessarily all residents.

5) They refused to provide us the results of their Fourth of July

survey before they voted.

6) Our own West Newport councilman, Gary Proctor, misrepresented

these results before they voted.

7) They disregarded our petition, which contained more than 1,000

signatures of residents.

Overall, they made no real attempt to consider the interests or

thoughts of the majority of people who actually live in their “Safety

Enhancement Zone”. For the record, our Fourth of July ideas are

posted on our Web site at freenewport.com.

But this is bigger than the Fourth of July ordinance. Memories are

long here, and resentment runs deep among locals.

It wasn’t too long ago that they ran out the old Cannery, Emerald

Forest, the Giggling Marlin, Windows on the Bay, Thunderbird,

Warehouse and Buzz. More recently, they continued their assault with

no beer with our Hotties Pizza, no late-night Chronic Tacos and no

dancing at El Ranchito. Legislatively, they gave us our latest noise

ordinance, our new Fourth of July ordinance, the upcoming alcohol

storage ordinance. Where does this end? Who is representing us?

From this representation void, FreeNewport! has emerged, and no

one can dispute the fact that our following has grown exponentially.

I believe that this attraction to FreeNewport! and our Web site,

freenewport.com, serves as evidence that many people do feel

overlooked. Thus, we are basically serving as a message board and

gathering point for these people to get organized.

Wouldn’t it be great if someday everyone felt like their opinions

actually mattered? Ironically then, FreeNewport! would fade away, a

victim of its own success.

BRIAN CLARKSON

FreeNewport! spokesman

West Newport