Press Action Hero of the Week: CAROL SCHWARTZ
Press Action
Friday, January 06, 2006
http://www.pressaction.com/news/weblog/full_article/schwartz01062006/
The Washington, DC City Council voted Jan. 4 to approve a broad ban on smoking in bars, restaurants and other public places. The ban, modeled closely on New York City’s, would apply immediately to all restaurant dining rooms and would be extended to bars, nightclubs, taverns and the bar areas of restaurants in January 2007.
The DC Council voted 11 to 1 in favor of the ban. Council member Carol Schwartz, a Republican, cast the sole dissenting vote. Schwartz said the issue was personal choice and freedom. “Bar and restaurant workers have a choice of where to work, and patrons have a choice of where to patronize,” she said, as reported in the Washington Post.
Here’s what Schwartz said in a June 2005 statement when the smoking ban legislation was being considered:
"In addition to my strong belief that government should not be in the business of removing people’s legal choices, I am also concerned about the impact that extreme measures would have on our hospitality industry. The fact of the matter is that the District of Columbia is far more reliant on revenue from its hospitality industry than any other “state” I know to fund its local budget for schools, public safety, public services—everything. Hospitality is our biggest industry; indeed, it is essentially our only industry. Without room for agriculture or manufacturing, what would our revenue options be?"
Schwartz is not your typical modern-day Republican. She does not follow the radical agendas of Newt Gingrich or Tom DeLay. Here’s how her website biography describes some of her activities outside of her role as a public official, which once again illustrates how she’s not your Pat Robertson-kind of Republican:
"Carol Schwartz’s devotion to the District of Columbia and her passion for its people began in 1966, when she came here to teach special education. Since then, Carol has shown her commitment to public service by contributing her time, her energy and her voice to a wide array of community causes. She has tutored students at Malcolm X Elementary School in Anacostia; counseled substance abusers in treatment programs; fought for services for people with AIDS; and helped to provide safe activities for District children—all as a volunteer."
Back in 2003, when Schwartz worked to block similar legislation that would have banned smoking in public places in DC, here’s how Justin Logan portrayed her efforts:
"I should apologize to my colleagues for gushing all day over what a cool, principled, admirable person DC City Councilmember Carol Schwartz is. But I won’t. Never before in my life have I seen (and met!) a politician who successfully stood up against such demagoguery, such pandering, such sensational, disingenuous testimony with only the potent principle of human liberty. Mrs. Schwartz showed her savvy political sense as well, veritably chopping the legs out from a well-funded effort to socially engineer small business out of existence. If any of my readers live in DC, please, please send Councilwoman Schwartz an email and let her know how much you admire her stand against the ‘public health’ nanny staters."
While Schwartz was unable to defeat the nanny staters in 2006, Press Action still appreciates her stand for personal freedom.