Let us petition!

Mr. Mayor, Esteemed City Councilors, Citizens of Dover:

Our committee has been asked by several of you - City Councilors, former City Councilors, and the Mayor - to stop seeking the removal of the on-street parking meters in Dover. To be clear, members of the Dover Committee for Fair Parking Policy have taken up the cause of other concerned citizens and small business owners. You may disagree with our position, but asking us not to petition our fellow citizens is insulting, and decreases the stature of your office.

Many of you have indicated that you regard a petition as invalid, because any fool would say yes to the question to remove the on-street parking meters. As Councilor Garrison recently said in a response to our Open Letter to the Dover City Council, “We as councilors are elected by the people to make educated decisions on behalf of the people, not emotional decisions as many citizens would likely make if asked on the spot.” Apparently, Mr. Garrison believes that the expression of the public will through a petition is an uneducated and emotional exercise. The Dover Mayor appears to share the same view:

“[I]n Dover, citizens have chosen a representative form of government in which elected officials are expected to be informed regarding all matters of interest to the community, evaluate all details/options of an issue and then make [a] decision for the long-term good of the community… Isn’t that what you want from good government? So at this point, I would not be swayed by a petition brought to the Council for the concerns about the question I listed above. I don’t believe the process would be valid.”

Mr. Mayor, Councilor Garrison, in all humility, we disagree. The right to petition one’s government, whether the U.S. Congress or the Dover City Council, is sacrosanct. The very First Amendment to the United States Constitution admonishes Congress not to abridge this right. That amendment reads in part:

“Congress shall make no law… abridging the freedom of speech… or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Notice that the language of the amendment does not say that the Government shall first give its approval for the people to petition, or that the government usually knows best. And while the amendment refers to Congress in the first part, the latter part refers to the more generic word “Government,” meaning it is a right of each citizen to petition their government at all levels, even the City Council.

There is no greater exercise of democratic government than trying to convince one’s fellow citizens of the justness of the cause and gaining their trust and signature on a local issue. And contrary to your opinion that the questions presented on our petition are vague, emotional, or difficult to understand, we believe the citizens can make a fully informed decision of their own, without the need for your admittedly expert interpretations.

For example, the first question of our petition reads:

Should the City of Dover remove all on-street parking meters, and convert any already purchased meters to use in parking lots?

Well… should they? Perhaps a more fitting question is, do you understand what is meant by this question? If so, one would hope that you give the average citizen of Dover the same credit. The question asks whether Dover should remove its on-street parking meters, plain and simple.

The second question asks whether the City of Dover should be required to apply parking revenues to parking improvements. As many of you know, the City Council at any time can spend monies obtained from the parking meters towards any project they wish, despite their own resolution requiring that money to be spent on parking improvements. The exact language of the question is therefore:

Should the City of Dover and the Dover Parking Commission be required to spend revenues obtained through parking meters, parking fines, and fees solely on parking and transportation related improvements?

Again, the simplicity and directness of the question is not beyond the ability of the average citizen to comprehend, and suggesting that your special position as “educated decision makers” entitles you to override the will of the people is small-minded and anti-democratic.

But what is the will of the voters? We will never know unless you stop obstructing this petition.

The only aim of this petition is to discover whether the people who elected you, your bosses for all intents and purposes, are behind you on the issue of implementing on-street parking metering. When the truth comes out, maybe we will find that the City’s voters are behind you. That is a chance our committee is willing to take, because ultimately we believe that a self-determining people will make the wisest decision.

Mr. Mayor, Esteemed Councilors, show us your faith in the people by joining us in the effort to understand the negative impact of the parking meters. Let us study the issue together and share real information with each other, rather than simply trading barbs and speculation about whether the meters are good for the city. And let us both defer to the people whose opinions really matter, the citizens of Dover.

Respectfully,

The Dover Committee for Fair Parking Policy
www.DumptheMeters.com