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Gaithersburg seeks new version of solicitation rule
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Mari Cruz Diaz sells food to laborers who wait along the sidewalks on Frederick Avenue in Gaithersburg on Wednesday. – Greg Whitesell/Examiner
Last week, Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler rejected an anti-solicitation ordinance passed by the City Council nearly a year ago that would have made looking for work or workers along city streets a misdemeanor for all involved. Gansler said the rule ran afoul of the First Amendment and Maryland’s vehicle laws.
City officials say the measure was intended to protect both workers’ and drivers’ safety.
“People stopping in roadways in busy traffic areas is an unsafe situation,” Gaithersburg Mayor Sidney Katz said. Some Gaithersburg officials say the city may need to pursue other options. Assistant city manager Fred Felton said a number of property owners along Route 355 have “given agency” to city police to ban people from properties.
“If they see someone causing a problem on that property, they can ban them from the property and enforce that ban through citation or arrest,” Felton said.
Opponents of the anti-solicitation rule condemned the measure when first proposed as being unfairly aimed at Latinos, who comprise a majority of those looking for work on the city’s streets.
Many officials say the anti-solicitation ordinance issue last year caused factions to form both on the City Council and in the community at large, and morphed from a debate about public safety to an issue that galvanized the opposing sides on illegal immigration.
“It’s a little of both,” Council member Henry Marraffa, who supported the anti-solicitation ordinance, told The Examiner. “We don’t want the safety problem it creates, but I am not going to deny it doesn’t have to do with being an illegal alien as well.”
Newly elected Council member Ryan Spiegel, who opposed the ordinance, said that mentality upsets him. “There was so much hostility around these issues a year ago,” Spiegel told The Examiner. “I am worried things are going to resurface. We’re trying hard to bring people together, and I think this could divide them again.”
kmiller@dcexaminer.com
Comments from Examiner Readers
10:45 AM MST on Wed., May. 21, 2008 re: "Law designed to get bodies moving dances on to board"
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11:51 AM MST on Thu., Mar. 6, 2008
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Examiner Reader said:
""Loiterers who spend more than three minutes within 10 feet of a nightclub door or line could be fined between $50 and $500 — and charged with a misdemeanor — if supervisors approve the bill passed by the Entertainment Commission on Tuesday night."" Sounds great. Now let's look at our Crystal Ball for what happens when the Board of Supervisors get this. Daly and Goldbrick will say it discriminates against minorities and wont be enforced in the Marina where the white yuppies hang out. Sandavol,Mirky, and Ammo will say that there is no causal connection to violence around club areas. Well that about sums up the state of affairs.
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Examiner Reader said:
Yes, Mr Spiegel, as long as there are people endangering our communities and our livelihoods there will be people who are interested in eradicating those problems.
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Examiner Reader said:
Not only is it safety a factor but also these un-inspected burrito wagons are breeding grounds for contaminated food. Most cater to Illegal Aliens workers and may not even have insurance or drivers licenses.
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