Council takes on Patriot Act

By TOM MORAN, Staff Writer
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (website)
1/7/2003

If critics of the USA Patriot Act are correct, the Fairbanks City Council may have spent more time pondering a resolution to express concern about the act Monday night than Congress spent in passing the act itself.

The Patriot Act, an antiterrorism measure that dramatically increases federal search and surveillance powers, quickly passed through Congress in October with little public debate. It has concerned a number of local citizens who believe some of its provisions, along with some other recent federal directives, infringe on constitutional rights.

"What powers they've taken on are frightening, and I can't stand by that happening," said Councilwoman Donna Gilbert, who introduced one of two council resolutions expressing concern about the implications of the act. "I think it's awful."

A number of local citizens concurred with Gilbert. Of 18 people to address the council on the subject Monday night, 17 were in favor of the resolutions.

Michael Welsh of Fairbanks called the act an "unprecedented, unjustifiable and unconstitutional extension of powers."

"It is a blueprint for an Orwellian police state," he said. "It deserves nothing less than your repudiation."

Despite the public response, Councilman Jeff Johnson said he wanted to hear from supporters of the act as well, and also said he was wary of condemning an act that none of them had read. The final draft of the Patriot Act was more than 400 pages long.

"Clearly, it's hard to vote on something that you're against, like this, if you've never read it," he said.

Others came out in support of the resolutions. Councilman Jerry Cleworth said he had misgivings about the motivation for the support of the resolutions, and about whether it was the council's place to take a political stand, but still said he supported the measures. "I speak in favor of it tonight," he said. "I don't see how you can't."

The council voted to postpone one of the two resolutions, proposed by Councilman Scott Kawasaki, until their next meeting, but a motion to also postpone Gilbert's resolution failed by a 3-2 vote. Johnson and Councilman Bob Boko voted yes, while Gilbert, Cleworth and Councilman Howard Thies voted no. Kawasaki was not present.

The council then voted to slightly amend the wording of Gilbert's proposed resolution, a motion that passed 4-1 with only Gilbert objecting. The amended resolution then passed unanimously.

In other business, the council voted to allow the city to lease a 1,600-square-foot portion of City Hall to the Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce for a five-year period.

Gilbert objected to the proposal, arguing that the city was offering the property for below market value.

"I think it's a giveaway and I think its wrong," she said.

Cleworth disagreed, calling the terms of the lease--$1,000 a month for three years, $1,200 a month after that--a fair price for the property. And Johnson, concurring with a pair of chamber representatives that spoke in favor of the proposal, said he felt City Hall would be a good site for chamber headquarters.

"I think this is a good marriage, bringing the chamber into this building," he said.

The ordinance passed 4-1, with only Gilbert voting no.

In other business, the council:

* Voted to conditionally protest the renewal of a liquor license at the Hot Tamale restaurant on North Turner Street. The City Building Department had protested the renewal, citing what they called a failure by the restaurant to address a number of building code violations, including electrical issues and the lack of an acceptable secondary exit. The council voted unanimously to protest the license renewal until such time as the building is brought up to code to the satisfaction of the building department.

* Voted to postpone until Feb. 10 a vote to realign Bidwell Street, which runs adjacent to the Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. headquarters off South Cushman Street. Council members expressed concern that the realignment would force the city to give up part of a valuable piece of their property while providing no benefit other than to straighten a short stretch of road.

"We're giving up land we got some pretty good offers on," noted Gilbert.

Close

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