April 25, 2008 01:25 pm
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CLINTON — Local bar owners are joining with bar owners from across the state to file an injunction against the statewide smoking ban.
An injunction informational meeting hosted by the Clinton Organized Bar and Restaurant Association was held Thursday night at The Odeon in Lyons to explain how local bar owners can be proactive in fighting the smoking ban, which goes into effect July 1. The meeting was attended by bar owners from all over Iowa, some driving several hours to attend and show their support.
COBRA President Jon Van Roekel said the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the objectives of pooling resources to form a central organization, raising money to hire the “best constitutional attorney” in the state to represent every Iowa bar owner by garnering at least $200 from each bar and file an injunction in time to stop the state from enforcing the smoking ban.
“I ask you, is $200 from your establishment worth your rights?” Van Roekel said.
Brian Froelich, owner of Fro’s Pub and Grub in Wilton, spoke to the audience about organizing a statewide organization called the Iowa Bar Owners Coalition, or IBOC. He said he has been fighting the smoking ban since “day one,” but legislators finally started listening and responding to him when he mentioned the organization. In a letter to legislators, Froelich said that by passing the smoking ban, they woke up a sleeping giant, a move that would result in a discrimination lawsuit against the state and advised them a list of legislators who voted in favor of the ban would be posted in every Iowa bar.
“You want to see grassroots? We are going to educate you. Start looking for a new job,” he said.
Van Roekel said COBRA does not have the financial resources to go after an injunction on its own, and is reaching out to join with other bar owners to raise an estimated $110,000 to $150,000 to file the injunction and take the issue to the Iowa Supreme Court. He said the fight will continue as long as it has to.
“I’m not willing to stop at the Iowa Supreme Court. I would like to see it come up before the U.S. Supreme Court and I’d like to see Iowa be the staple where businesses stood up and said, ‘You’re not going to take my rights, It’s my decision to make.’
And have them go, “I’m sorry, every one of you states are illegal.”
Van Roekel introduced Marty Maynes, owner of The Union in Iowa City, who has been organizing bar owners in central Iowa. He said bar owners, patrons and private citizens are sending money to aid the cause. He said he has heard legislators will attempt to pass a last minute bill this weekend that would remove the casino exemption. He said if that happens, the fight will become more interesting.
“We need to be proactive. We need to keep going. We need to make this state a better place to own a bar,” said Maynes.
Clinton resident Les Shields said he quit smoking in July when Iowa raised the tax on cigarettes. He asked those who continued to smoke and pay that tax to show him where the improvements in health care were that legislators promised the funding from the tax would go. Shields garnered excited reactions from the crowd when he pointed out that the ban also applies to outdoor environments, including Alliant Energy Field and the Riverboat Days Jaycee’s Beer tent or bandshell. He noted the listed smoking ban enforcement agency is the Iowa Department of Public Health, which operates Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., but said private citizens can make complaints. Shields advised bar owners that if someone smokes in their bar, another customer could claim they had an asthma attack because of the smoke and sue their establishment.
Amy Hook, whose husband, James, owns Hook’s Pub in Clinton, questioned what entity receives the fine if someone is cited $25 for smoking during Riverboat Days. Shields said he believes the liquor license holder would be liable for a $100 ticket and said the one paying would likely be the president of the Jaycees.
Kat and Scott Barrick, owners of the Silver Dollar Supper Club in Blairsburg, closed their bar for the day in order to attend the meeting. Kat said she has the names and numbers of 27 bar owners in her area who plan to be involved in the fight, and likely will get more involved. She questioned why inmates of Iowa prisons retained the right to smoke.
“Since when do they have more rights than the average person?” she asked.
Twila Peacock, a bar owner from southeast Iowa, said in an economy where citizens are making choices between buying food or gas to get to work, there’s not much left for those people to go to bars.
“I’m a good person but they’ve got me mad,” said Peacock. “They’re going to drive me out of business and I’m not going to stand for it.”
Several bar owners, patrons and concerned citizens voiced their opposition to the ban, saying their rights have been violated, and made personal and business donations to the injunction fund. Dave Holmes, owner of Legend’s Sports Bar in Clinton, made a donation of $1,000 to the fund. Steve Gendreau, owner of Mr. G’s Pizza, pledged to donate 50 cents from the sale of every frozen pizza to the fund.
Froelich asked Iowa bar owners to throw a statewide party on May 24, calling it “Iowa’s Freedom Day,” and encouraged bar owners to get their customers to donate to the injunction fund and sign petitions against the smoking ban.
After the meeting, Amy Hook noted that while people are focusing on how the ban will affect bars, it also affects many other business people such as construction workers who will not be able to smoke outdoors on a construction site or those who drive company vehicles. Phil Petersen, owner of Joni’s Penthouse Lounge in Clinton and the Podunk Palace in Goose Lake, said he is worried the ban will drive off half of his customer base.
“I feel the most sorry for the small neighborhood bars. They are going to take the worst hit,” he said.
Van Roekel said he was impressed with the huge response to the proposed injunction and commented on the long line of people who stood in line to donate to the cause. During the two-hour meeting, more than $10,000 was raised through donations and pledges. He said that the way funds have been pouring in so far, the organization may raise the funds to hire an attorney within a week or two.
Anyone interested in learning more about the efforts of COBRA and other bar owners can attend an informational meeting at 4 p.m. on May 4 at the Knights of Columbus hall, 1111 W. 35th St. in Davenport.
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