February 25, 2003
Buffalo Common Council considering anti-war resolution
A resolution opposing the war in Iraq is, sponsored by Council President James Pitts and Councilman Antoine Thompson, is now before the Buffalo Common Council and will be be voted on at the Tuesday, March 4, Council meeting. The meeting starts at 2:00 p.m. and is open to the public.
The most recent version of the Buffalo text is printed below.
Similar resolutions have been passed by the councils of well over 100 American cities, among them Berkeley, Culver City , Davis , Fairfax , Los Angeles, Oakland , Palo Alto , San Francisco, Santa Barbara , Santa Cruz , Santa Monica , Boulder , Denver , New Haven , Key West, Atlanta , Chicago , DeKalb , Evanston , Oak Park , Urbana , Bloomington (IN), Gary, Des Moines , Orono, Portland , Baltimore , Cambridge , Somerville , Ann Arbor , Detroit , Kalamazoo , Lansing , St. Paul , Jersey City , Maplewood , Newark , Paterson , Princeton, Santa Fe , Ithaca , New Paltz , Rochester, Syracuse , Woodstock , Chapel Hill , Akron , Cleveland , Cleveland Heights , Dayton , Oberlin , Shaker Heights , Eugene (Oregon) , Philadelphia , Providence , Austin , Burlington , Virginia passed, Charlottesville , Seattle , Tacoma , Washington, DC, Madison , and Milwaukee. A much larger group of cities and counties is presently in the process of enacting such resolutions. (Click here for an updated list.)
Buffalo residents in favor of the resolution can call or email their district representatives as well as all four at-large representatives to encourage them to vote for it. The districts, email addresses and telephone numbers are:
jpitts@ch.ci.buffalo.ny.us Council President, 851-5132
dbonifacio@ch.ci.buffalo.ny.us Niagara, 851-5125
mcoppola@ch.ci.buffalo.ny.us Delaware 851-5155
brdavis@ch.ci.buffalo.ny.us Ellicott, 851-4980
cfisher@ch.ci.buffalo.ny.us at large 851-5148
rfontana@ch.ci.buffalo.ny.us Lovejoy, 851-5151
jgolombek@ch.ci.buffalo.ny.us North, 851-5116
bjgrant@ch.ci.buffalo.ny.us University 851-5165
bgray@ch.ci.buffalo.ny.us at-large 851-4166
rl@ch.ci.buffalo.ny.us (LoTempio) at-large, 851-4118
mmartino@ch.ci.buffalo.ny.us South, 851-5169
athompson@ch.ci.buffalo.ny.us Masten, 851-5145
dfranczyk@city-buffalo.com Fillmore, 8514138
By Mr. Pitts and Mr. Thompson
RESOLUTION OPPOSING THE WAR IN IRAQ
WHEREAS, the residents of the City of Buffalo, New York and their elected officials have the Constitutional Right and duty to petition the national government on matters of grave concern to our city, the nation, and the world community;
WHEREAS, we stand on the threshold of a war in the country of Iraq and the surrounding region where the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans and millions of Iraqi civilians, including women and children, will be endangered by a devastating modern war; and
WHEREAS, it has not been proven that the issues with Iraq cannot be resolved by traditional diplomatic efforts; and
WHEREAS, more time may be necessary to resolve issues in a diplomatic manner; and
WHEREAS, military action against Iraq will cost billions of dollars at a time when the American economy is struggling and at a time when the federal government is operating with a deficit; and
WHEREAS, the State of New York is facing deficit situations and serious budgetary constraints; and
WHEREAS, the City of Buffalo is also facing serious financial problems; and
WHEREAS, while making preparations for a costly war against Iraq, the Bush Administration is proposing a tax cut for the very wealthy and this tax cut will result in less money being provided for education, health care, employment, aid to American cities, desperately needed social services, and the environment; and
WHEREAS, military action in Iraq will divert attention from economic issues and challenges confronting the American people and American cities; and
WHEREAS, resolutions opposing military action against Iraq have been adopted by numerous City Councils including Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Philadelphia, Baltimore, San Francisco, Albuquerque, New Haven, Seattle, and Los Angeles; and
WHEREAS, the people of Buffalo believe that we must exhaust every possible diplomatic and political alternative in order to prevent a war with Iraq which is more likely to result in the use of weapons of mass destruction than will a policy of diplomacy; and
WHEREAS, many religious, community, and union leaders throughout the United States have spoken out against this war and the impact it will have on our people; and
WHEREAS, according to the United Nations International Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF), 500,000 children have died in Iraq during the past 12 years as a result of the 1991 war in Iraq and the subsequent sanctions imposed on that country and a new war may cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians as well as military casualties on all sides; and
WHEREAS, committing American troops to Iraq will put in harm’s way working class residents of Buffalo, a disproportionate number of them racial and ethnic minorities from our city’s most economically deprived neighborhoods; and
WHEREAS, The climate of fear and war hysteria has removed from public scrutiny numerous issues of public concern; and
WHEREAS, fears of domestic terrorism in the United states following 9-11 have resulted in the passage of laws, including the USA Patriot Act, and the enactment of directives that have reduced civil liberties and the right to democratic self-expression of Buffalonians and all U. S. citizens, and further restrictions will no doubt be imposed if the U. S. invades Iraq; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Buffalo Common Council opposes any military action against Iraq undertaken without full endorsement by the United Nations and urges President Bush to continue seeking a peaceful resolution of issues with Iraq in a diplomatic manner.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Clerk send a certified copy of this resolution to President Bush, United States Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Charles E. Schumer, Congresswoman Louise M. Slaughter, Congressman Jack Quinn, and Congressman Thomas M. Reynolds.
_____________________________ ____________________________
James W. Pitts
Antoine M. Thompson
Here's what happened:
"Buffalo Goons," which describes what happened at the March 4 Common Council meeting
The text of the resolution proposed by Council President Pitts and Councilman Thompson.
The text of the David Franczyk amendment, which David Franczyk never tried to submit but which James Pitts, Betty Jean Grant and Antoine Thompson did try to submit.
"Scoundrels and liars at the Buffalo Common Council," which describes the way several members of the council subsequently tried to scapegoat Pitts for what they did.
"What I would have said to the Buffalo Common Council about the peace resolution before them on March 4 if I'd been allowed to speak which I wasn't because nobody at all got to speak about the resolution because eight members on the Council wouldn't let anybody talk about it."
Copyright 2003 by Buffalo Report, Inc.