☀️Let It Sun

Friday, January 6 - 2023 Week 1

Jan 6, 2023

It’s the first week of the new year and all sorts of good things are lining up to for you to catch the Sun.

☀️On Not Playing Footsie with Druggies

The Marysville Police are allowed to arrest and prosecute those using illegal drugs in public. It feels like BREAKING! or THIS JUST IN! would be too dramatic to add to such a lede. The only reason this is news is because many in our State government are apparently reading the global best-seller: Clown World for Dummies©.

Joel Moreno at KOMO News first reported on December 29 about two new ordinances passed by the Marysville City Council which authorize the Marysville police “to enforce existing state law through the municipal court instead of filing a case through the Snohomish County court system.” According to Police Chief Erik Scairpon there has been an increase in drug use in public spaces such as on buses and in parking lots. Somehow we’ve gotten to the point where needed new ordinances to deal with that.

On Wednesday Riley Haun at The Herald provided more background as well as some perspective from Mayor Nerhing on the city’s plan to prosecute in the city’s court. Mayor Nehring himself tweeted a link to The Herald article:

Jon Nehring @Jon_Nehring

In Marysville, we lead with compassion by offering treatment and services to those suffering from drug addiction. We also understand that it is critical to have consequences enforced for those who commit crimes while also refusing services offered.

heraldnet.comMarysville aims to prosecute drug, disturbance cases in municipal court | HeraldNet.comCity officials say certain crimes are rarely prosecuted. Two ordinances seek to change that in Marysville.

What makes this news is that our State’s Supreme Court ruled in 2021 that possessing drugs was no longer a felony because, after all, someone might be in “unwitting possession” of illegal drugs. The new legislation lowered the classification of the crime to misdemeanor, lessened the fine, and pushed for treatment rather than prison. Added to that, prosecutors and county/higher courts are busy, and sometimes busy not bothering to deal with the kind of law-breaking behaviors that there would probably be less of if someone actually bothered to deal with them, if you know what I mean.

As quoted in The Herald the Mayor said, “If we control our own destiny and have the ability to prosecute with our own city prosecutors, that just gives us more control over those kinds of decisions.” This is the way. And though the Mayor also said that he’s not concerned that the city is “stepping on the state’s toes,” maybe the State needs a little toe-stepping.

There are nuances in all this, I’m sure. There is a difference between drug possession and use, and there’s a difference between something being against the law and those things not being processed according to the law. There are overlapping jurisdictions, and legislative procedures, and all the things. But if all politics is local, let policing and prosecuting be as well. This isn’t to say that executive and judicial actions should only be city by city, but that they should at least start there and be dependable there.

The Marysville City Council’s work is not just a win for the legal system and for the police, nor is it just helping the safety of those riding public transit or walking their dogs in the park. This is a win for the confidence of business owners. It’s an invite to those weary of seeing crimes go unpunished in their cities. It’s a statement that we’ll take measures to protect ourselves even if Olympia won’t. And if they get their toes stepped on, they should stop playing footsie with lawbreakers.

☀️City Invites

Marysville Community Center Open House, today, January 6, 4:00-6:00pm. The Community Center was formerly the Marysville Municipal Court and has been remodeled to host dance and fitness classes as well as art classes, gourd carvers, and meeting space. Read more at the city’s website.