Larry Stone: City’s leaders must undo grievous mistake made by previous officials

By Larry Stone

Nov. 19, 2018, was surely one of the damaging days in the history of Spokane.

On that date, Ben Stuckart led the Spokane City Council in a vote stopping enforcement of the law banning camping on public property in the city of Spokane.

Ben Stuckart and the progressive members of the City Council were proud to be following in the footsteps of other progressive cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle. Heaven knows, they were not following the example of comparable cities like Boise or Wichita, Kansas.

In the six years since that vote, Spokane has plunged into the abyss of crime, filth, enabling of drug addiction, enabling of individuals with mental issues to be on the streets, graffiti everywhere, property destruction, and human trafficking especially preying upon women. Overdoses, deaths and violence are daily events.

During these six years, downtown has been battered, businesses are leaving, and the public is afraid. Just six years ago, citizens could use the bathroom at virtually any building downtown. Now, almost all restrooms are under lock and key, and for good reason.

Only six years ago, optimism about the future of the city was everywhere. Now, pessimism reigns supreme and for good reason.

The biggest victims: low income citizens and small businesses. Both have been devastated.

Neither Mayor Lisa Brown, City Council President Wilkerson nor the rest of the current City Council were part of this terrible vote in 2018.

Spokane citizens, by vote of 75%, passed a new law in November banning camping on public property in most parts of the city. The overwhelming majority of Spokane citizens want no camping on public property.

The mayor and the current City Council did not vote, in 2018, to enable camping on public property but they can solve it. They need to enforce the law.

Until Spokane city government enforces Proposition 1, our problems will only get worse.

Progressive governments all over the West Coast are now banning camping on public property. Proposition 1 was modeled on the same law put in place in Los Angeles. Some of the vagrants that these cities are removing from their camps on public property are headed to Spokane.

Progressives across major West Coast cities are acknowledging that “Housing First” has been a failure. But an even bigger failure has been camping on public property. That is why progressives such as the mayor of San Francisco and the governor of California are actively campaigning to ban camping on public property.

Weekly, we watch more businesses, small and large, leave downtown Spokane for Spokane Valley, Liberty Lake and North Idaho.

Until our Spokane city government puts an end to camping on public property, the future of Spokane is dismal.

Larry Stone has been active in city affairs as they relate to public safety for the past seven years. For nearly 50 years, he has owned and operated manufacturing, distribution and property development businesses throughout the Western states with headquarters in Spokane. He is a graduate of Lewis and Clark High School in Spokane.