Determined activists with fire in their eyes showed up at a recent meeting of the Silver City Trails and Open Space Committee. As a member of this quiet committee, I had never seen more than three members of the public at a meeting, but on this occasion 10 citizens had taken all the seats.
Why were they there? I had no idea, but we soon found out that they were pet owners who liked to walk their dogs off leash on Boston Hill. Two animal control officers got wind of the ruckus and showed up to defend their policies.
The controversy was caused not by a change in leash laws, but by a change in enforcement policy. Apparently, walking your dog off leash has always been contrary to ordinance throughout Silver City, but dog walkers have been following leashless dogs on open space trails for years.
This spring, animal control officers started giving out warnings, especially on Boston Hill. To the activists, this seemed random and unjustified. The town was trying to solve a problem that didn’t exist. They wanted to negotiate a compromise to allow dogs off leash in some areas.
The two animal control officers justified their enforcement policy: Some citizens don’t like to encounter dogs off leash. Some people might not control their dogs. Some owners (not the activists, of course) didn’t notice when their exuberant dogs made messes.
But why bring this issue to the Trails and Open Space Committee? Yes, we make recommendations to town administrators and the council, but they can ignore our suggestions. It takes time for us to reach a consensus. On an issue of urgency, I thought activists should go to the council directly. Other committee members disagreed, saying our committee was the appropriate place to start a discussion.
But I kept thinking about a similar case about 2010. A diligent animal control officer fined Polly Cook for having chickens in her backyard. The chickens were technically contrary to ordinance. Did this result in Cook getting rid of her chickens? No, it resulted in political hell breaking loose. It resulted in Cook running for council and winning. It resulted in the animal control ordinance being rewritten to allow domestic fowl under regulations, and to update other animal laws.
If one person could cause so much trouble, what could a group of dog owners do in an election year when the council has already taken some controversial stands? If organized opponents went to the council, they might suggest changes to allow off-leash dogs in certain open space areas under certain conditions.
The mayor and two council positions (potentially a majority) are up for election this year. The current mayor is not running for reelection, so we will have a new one. Terms also expire for District 2 (Nick Prince) and District 4 (Guadalupe Cano). This gives citizen reformers more leverage than usual.
They could talk to potential mayoral candidates. The ones I’ve heard of so far are Councilor Cano and former Councilor Simon Wheaton-Smith (now chair of the Planning and Zoning Commission). I don’t know who else might be running for council or mayor. If worst comes to worst, reformers could look for their own candidates.
Of course, going political risks rousing opposing activists who want all dogs on leashes. There are probably individuals who support an always-on-leash policy, but is there a group capable of organizing?
I don’t have a dog in this fight, although one of my good friends is a dog — Frida! I don’t care which side prevails; I just want a good debate. In other words, I’m stirring up trouble. That’s my job.
I’ve been following Silver City elections for many years, and the results are discouraging. Too often nobody runs, and the incumbent gets free reelection. I’ve seen decent candidates wait until the last minute and have to run (and lose) as write-ins. Once, a candidate won as the only person on the ballot and immediately resigned. We often get mediocre candidates and, occasionally, really bad ones.
So, if you’re angry about the new leash enforcement policy, find your candidate. If you’re outraged (as I am) about the council not passing an ordinance creating a citizen advisory group on police, find candidates who will vote for it. If you’re upset about crime downtown, or if you think we need a new swimming pool next to our new recreation center, start organizing.
Even if you oppose reform, you must choose a new mayor and, possibly, a new councilor, since Cano can’t run for both.
So find a candidate, even if it’s yourself. Form coalitions and talk to friends. Contested races are good, forcing incumbents to defend their records. If you start organizing now, we’ll have better choices in November.
Bruce McKinney is a Silver City business owner, close observer of local government and occasional troublemaker. In his column, which appears every other Thursday, he tries to address big questions from a local perspective. Send comments and ideas to [email protected].
