Anne Landman's Collection
Long Beach Referendum
Abstract
This brief Tobacco Institute memo reveals the tobacco industry's strategy to threaten and frighten City Council members into doing its bidding.
In 1991 the Long Beach, California City Council passed an ordinance that aimed to completely eliminate indoor smoking in public places after 1994. The Tobacco Institute threatened the Council with a legal challenge to the ordinance AND initiated a referendum drive to repeal the law. These twin actions threatened the City Council with unnecessary potential expenditures and put them in a bad position.
The memo lays out the strategy:
"The Council clearly did not want to expend the necessary funds for a legal challenge, nor did they want to pay for the election that would have been called had they left the original ordinance standing. As a consequence, we were able to draft a compromise much more to our liking."
Although this document is ten years old, the strategy is still in use now. The difference is that today "surrogates" (who don't appear to be linked to the industry) are the ones making these same threats. In the city of Montrose, Colorado (pop. 11,000) voters approved a ballot initiative on April 4, 2001 that eliminates smoking in indoor public areas. Almost immediately, small band of Libertarians threatened to sue the City of Montrose AND initiate a recall of the law through a referendum drive, the very same strategy the Tobacco Institute effectively used to get the changes it wanted in the Long Beach law in 1991.
Fields
- Quotes
TO: Ballot Issues Committee FROM: Bob McAdam RE: Long Beach Referendum
This week the Long Beach, California City Council moved to repeal the smoking ban ordinance that we subjected to referendum, eliminating the possibility of the issue appearing before the voters next June. In its place, the Council will enact an ordinance that contains the following basic provitions:
-- Two thirds of restaurant seating designated as non-smoking.
-- Two thirds of workplace cafeterias designated as non-smoking.
-- Smoking in single person offices allowed if separately ventilated to the outside.
-- Sampling allowed by permit at private functions.
-- Vending machines allowed at adult locaitons and under adult supervision with remote devices.
This is clearly a highly restrictive ordinance; however, it is a major concession by The Council towards our position. This is an example of how the referendum process can work to our favor. The Council clearly did not want to expend the necessary funds for a legal challenge, nor did they want to pay for the election that would have been called had they left the original ordinance standing. As a consequence, we were able to draft a compromise much more to our liking.
Because Long Beach is the state's fifth largest city, our success here will have an impact on other large jurisdictions in the state. HOpefully, we can spread the press reports around to other jurisdictions...
- Company
- American Tobacco Co.
- Author
- McAdam, B.- Tobacco Institute
- Recipient
- Ballot Issues Committee
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