Mayor Moyer Sends Message To Shropshire

In what can be described as a political power play, the Mayor is set to destroy months of propaganda and lobbying efforts by Sam Shropshire by passing a bill that supersedes his ban on plastic bags. Such a bill is not yet on the online agenda, but The Capital reports:

The mayor said she will introduce a revised version of the bill on Monday
that would instead establish an environmental review committee to tout the
city's greening efforts and encourage the review of residential and business
practices and policies.

"This is far broader than just the bags," she said. "It enlarges the
scope and is far more environmentally sensitive in a whole host of ways, setting
an example for the public."

If Ms. Moyer's revised version of the bill is approved by the Council on
Monday, it would replace Mr. Shropshire's bill.

The mayor has been rather vigilant, at least on face, with her environmental concerns; Lord knows she's travelled the country and the wide world learning about climate change. But the timing of this is just too perfect. The plastic bag bill was first proposed in the summer, and the mayor waits until now to introduce a bill that would wipe out the ban?!! I refuse to be convinced that the idea just came to the mayor, nor that her motivation is anything but showing Alderman Shropshire that she still has control of the circus.

In this blog's estimation, this is the mayor's second stab at limiting the shock value of Alderman Sam's ban. She previously introduced a R-52-07, a bill that would increase fines for littering. While such an action was probably meant to address the ban, the mayor stumbled upon the proper logic on this issue. Much like liquor licenses cannot urinate on flower pots, plastic bags need human accomplices to do their harm. Memo: DEAL WITH THE PEOPLE!

Politically, this works out well for Alderman Cordle. He can seize the rare opportunity to find common ground with the mayor:

Alderman David H. Cordle, R-Ward 5, said the citywide ban was not right for
Annapolis and he is encouraged by the alternate bill.

"I would support not doing the ban, but promoting education and
voluntary use [of reusable bags] ," he said. "People want the plastic bags. I
have many uses for them, I reuse them and others recycle them, but people want
them."

It will be an interesting night, and one with an early start: 6:30 on Monday. As always, anybody wishing to participate in a pre-meeting tailgate in Hillman Garage needs only to email me with what they are going to bring.