Sometimes, you’ve got to pick a side.
Sure, it can be more comfortable in the middle of the road. But as Texas journalist Jim Hightower once said, “The middle of the road is for yellow lines and dead armadillos.”
That’s where the city of Cedar Rapids finds itself in the debate over a bill in the Legislature banning citizen police review boards. It would undo months of hard work put in by local police, city leaders and Advocates for Social Justice to form a Cedar Rapids review board in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in 2020.
Cedar Rapids’ two lobbyists are registered as “undecided” on the bill. Not for it, but also not against it. For the advocates who led peaceful protests and believed the city was on their side, it doesn’t make sense.
“As a general practice, the city’s stance on proposed legislation leans toward neutrality,” said City Manager Jeff Pomeranz in a statement answering ASJ concerns. “We find that registering as ‘undecided’ on developing legislation provides greater opportunities for the city to share and listen to our lawmakers, keeping the door open to positive conversations while legislation develops.”
“I’m calling BS on that one,” Anne Carter, a member of ASJ, told the City Council on Tuesday.
Truth is, the Republican-controlled Legislature is going to do what it wants no matter how Cedar Rapids’ lobbyists register. A bill that once offered greater protections for civil service employees has morphed into a review board ban. The bill’s backers have, wrongly, portrayed review boards as part of some leftist plot to undermine law enforcement.
So, registering “against” the bill would be a symbolic gesture. But symbolic gestures do matter. Being squarely against the bill sends a message to local advocates the city remains in their corner. “Undecided” sends a different message, regardless of whether it’s good strategery.
And there are bills the city has registered “against.” The city is against multiple bills seeking to get rid of automated traffic enforcement. The city also opposes a bill that would bar local governments from enforcing rules on building exteriors and another that alters the way parking meters operate.
It’s no secret two of the biggest items on the city’s legislative to-do list are stopping a traffic camera ban and heading off an extension of a moratorium on new casino licenses. Maybe the city doesn’t want to alienate Republicans by opposing the review board bill.
Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell insists those issues have had no bearing on the city’s review board stance. She said she favors keeping the board in place.
“I think it has worked really well in Cedar Rapids,” O’Donnell said. “I do believe it is a best practice.”
In 2020, lawmakers unanimously approved police reforms amid protests, and the governor signed them on the Capitol steps with social justice advocates standing behind her. A year later, the governor signed a “back the blue” bill that cracked down on protests. We’ve been backsliding on justice reform ever since.
Cedar Rapids has been a success story since its citizen review board began its work in 2021. Now, a bill scrapping all that progress is one House vote away from the governor’s desk.
“The time for neutrality is over. The stakes are too high, and the cost of inaction is too great,” said state Rep. Sami Scheetz, D-Cedar Rapids.
It’s time, past time, to pick a side.
(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette.com
www.thegazette.com
Sure, it can be more comfortable in the middle of the road. But as Texas journalist Jim Hightower once said, “The middle of the road is for yellow lines and dead armadillos.”
That’s where the city of Cedar Rapids finds itself in the debate over a bill in the Legislature banning citizen police review boards. It would undo months of hard work put in by local police, city leaders and Advocates for Social Justice to form a Cedar Rapids review board in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in 2020.
Cedar Rapids’ two lobbyists are registered as “undecided” on the bill. Not for it, but also not against it. For the advocates who led peaceful protests and believed the city was on their side, it doesn’t make sense.
“As a general practice, the city’s stance on proposed legislation leans toward neutrality,” said City Manager Jeff Pomeranz in a statement answering ASJ concerns. “We find that registering as ‘undecided’ on developing legislation provides greater opportunities for the city to share and listen to our lawmakers, keeping the door open to positive conversations while legislation develops.”
“I’m calling BS on that one,” Anne Carter, a member of ASJ, told the City Council on Tuesday.
Truth is, the Republican-controlled Legislature is going to do what it wants no matter how Cedar Rapids’ lobbyists register. A bill that once offered greater protections for civil service employees has morphed into a review board ban. The bill’s backers have, wrongly, portrayed review boards as part of some leftist plot to undermine law enforcement.
So, registering “against” the bill would be a symbolic gesture. But symbolic gestures do matter. Being squarely against the bill sends a message to local advocates the city remains in their corner. “Undecided” sends a different message, regardless of whether it’s good strategery.
And there are bills the city has registered “against.” The city is against multiple bills seeking to get rid of automated traffic enforcement. The city also opposes a bill that would bar local governments from enforcing rules on building exteriors and another that alters the way parking meters operate.
It’s no secret two of the biggest items on the city’s legislative to-do list are stopping a traffic camera ban and heading off an extension of a moratorium on new casino licenses. Maybe the city doesn’t want to alienate Republicans by opposing the review board bill.
Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell insists those issues have had no bearing on the city’s review board stance. She said she favors keeping the board in place.
“I think it has worked really well in Cedar Rapids,” O’Donnell said. “I do believe it is a best practice.”
In 2020, lawmakers unanimously approved police reforms amid protests, and the governor signed them on the Capitol steps with social justice advocates standing behind her. A year later, the governor signed a “back the blue” bill that cracked down on protests. We’ve been backsliding on justice reform ever since.
Cedar Rapids has been a success story since its citizen review board began its work in 2021. Now, a bill scrapping all that progress is one House vote away from the governor’s desk.
“The time for neutrality is over. The stakes are too high, and the cost of inaction is too great,” said state Rep. Sami Scheetz, D-Cedar Rapids.
It’s time, past time, to pick a side.
(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette.com
Opinion: Ceda Rapids picks strategery when a clear message is needed
The Iowa Capitol is seen in Des Moines on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2019. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette) Sometimes, you’ve got to …
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