Friday, February 10, 2012

Our Response to Veto of Proposal 18

INDIANAPOLIS – Smoke Free Indy is strongly disappointed with Mayor Ballard's decision to veto Proposal 18. We stand with the 70 percent of Indianapolis residents who support this proposal and who were looking forward to enjoying a smoke-free Indianapolis. It is especially frustrating since Mayor Ballard indicated his support in November for this exact language regarding a private club exemption that he now claims is the basis of his veto.

This is not the first time Mayor Ballard has flip-flopped on this issue. In 2007, while running for Mayor of Indianapolis, he wrote to a constituent, "I can assure you that I am a supporter of the smokefree workplace. Secondhand smoke is a proven health hazard and I would support any legislation to limit the impact of secondhand smoke."

We encourage the City-County Council to keep working on behalf of the people of Indianapolis to pass the strongest law possible that protects employees and patrons in all workplaces, including restaurants and bars.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Action Alert - Tell Mayor Ballard to sign Proposal 18

City-County Council Passes Proposal 18!


Members of the City-County Council passed Proposal 18 during the full council meeting on Monday night by a vote of 19-9! Here is our response:


"Smoke Free Indy is pleased that Proposal 18 was adopted by the Indianapolis City Council. This moment is long overdue to the workers, citizens and visitors of Indianapolis. We would like to thank the council members, both past and present, who have worked diligently over the years to get us to this point. Proposal 18 isn’t perfect. We will continue to work toward the day when all workers and business customers are protected from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke. However, it goes a long way in strengthening the current ordinance and offering protection to many more workers. We are joyful that the council did not weaken Proposal 18 by allowing an amendment that would allow children to be exposed to secondhand smoke in private clubs. We encourage Mayor Ballard to keep the promise he made in 2007, 2011 and most recently this past November; keep Indy moving forward and sign Proposal 18. History has been made in Indy tonight, while the whole world is watching."


It is now or never. Reach out to Mayor Ballard to let him know how you feel about Proposal 18.


Call (317.327.3601 or 317.327.4622) send a message on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MayorGregBallard, or tweet (@MayorBallard) to share your thoughts. We can't stress how important it is to reach out to him.


This is it, the final step to make Indy smoke-free. Please forward this message on to your friends, family, co-workers, everyone you know and ask them to do the same. We have only a short window of time, so we must act now!