Our Views: Mayor wants crackdown on misconduct

Mayor Stan Biles has three words for current loitering and public nuisance problems plaguing downtown Olympia.

"Enough is enough," Biles says.

Biles said he witnessed a fight on a downtown street last Sunday night. The two combatants were egged on by 20 bystanders.

Two days later the mayor was chased down the street by an aggressive panhandler demanding money. In a ride-along with police, he was amazed at the number of drunks on downtown streets.

It's time, he said, for the capital city to return to long-held community standards of decency.

"You don't yell and shout at one another," Biles said. "You don't do drugs on the street corner. You don't get drunk in public parks. You don't intimidate and harass other people. You don't defecate in alleyways, and you don't urinate on the walls of downtown businesses. It's got to stop."

Biles is absolutely right. The current standards of conduct in downtown Olympia are unacceptable. We've heard no one say the status quo is acceptable.

The question is whether the mayor will have the support of his fellow council members when he pushes for strong city ordinances and strict enforcement -- as early as this summer.

Biles said Olympia has a growing reputation "under bridges and freeway overpasses across the country" as a tolerant community.

It's time to change that patsy image, he said.

What message would he send?

"Our message should be if you want to help yourself, we'll meet you halfway and provide the social services," Biles said. "But if you don't behave and if you don't abide by standards of acceptable conduct, you will be held accountable."

How does the mayor propose to steer Olympia in this new direction? If he has his way, the council will pass a series of ordinances that will:

- Ban the sale of fortified wine in the downtown core.

- Ban panhandling, or as he calls it, begging.

- Broaden existing trespass laws.

- Ban car camping.

Next, he would increase the number of undercover officers working the business district. He also wants to put together work crews so people convicted of urinating or defecating in public and those convicted of vandalism would be sentenced to clean up the messes of others.

Council members have suggested other remedies: improved street lighting and a caseworker to work the streets. Some are pushing so-called compassion cards so that instead of handing out cash to panhandlers, individuals would hand over a card listing social service agencies and programs available in the community.

The mayor's push for change represents a major shift in direction for Olympia. But are the ordinances and stepped-up enforcement the solutions? Does Biles have the support of other council members and, more important, the community?

You can weigh in by calling or writing City Hall. The council expects to take action in four to six weeks.

Olympia City Council

- Members: Mayor Stan Biles, council members Curt Pavola, Doug Mah, Laura Ware, Mark Foutch, Jeanette Hawkins and Matthew Green

- Address: P.O. Box 1967, Olympia, WA 98507-1967

- Call: 360-753-8447

- E-mail: citycouncil@ ci.olympia.wa.us

- Fax number: 360-709-2791

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