COCKAYNE WARNES OF DRUG FREE ZONES
(Bristol) City
Councilman Ken Cockayne, the Republican nominee for Mayor of the City of
Bristol today issued a statement on the eve of Bristol schools opening tomorrow
regarding the recent proposal in the General Assembly regarding the issue of
drug free zones.
Currently, state statute dictates a 1500 radius around our
schools as drug free zone. Anyone caught
selling or using drugs within these zones are given harsher penalties. Near the
end of the last legislative session, the Democrat majority amended a bill that
would have reduced this radius from 1500 feet to 300 feet. The bill ultimately failed.
“This bill would have
thwarted our local police department in their efforts to arrest many drug
dealers in town,” Cockayne added “This bill is just bad public policy.”
The Republican nominee stated that as our next Mayor he
would “Lend his voice to the growing opposition to this proposal and work
diligently within the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities to see that this
proposal doesn’t become law.”
“Our children deserve the comfort of having the best
protection from drug dealers peddling their goods within the 1500 radius of a
school and parents deserve the same comfort level,” Cockayne added “I, for one,
would like to see the 1500 radius increased rather than decreased.”
Our city along with many other urban areas in our state are
seeing a spike in drug related crimes and as we all know this can lead to
increased crime rates and blight within our community. “As Mayor, I have vowed
to take a strong stance on blight and graffiti, and bills such as this one from
the Legislature do nothing to help local officials,” Cockayne said.
Cockayne calls for unified opposition amongst all elected
officials regarding this proposal should it surface again. (Democrat Chris Wright supported the bill
before it ultimately failed.)
“I am asking all elected officials and candidates,
regardless of their party affiliations, to join me in opposition to this
proposal. Surely this is an issue that
all of us in Bristol can agree on.”
1 comment:
Response from Ellen Zoppo-Sassu
So if I am to understand this correctly, Councilman Cockayne has just issued a press release about a bill from last year’s legislative session, that did not pass, and says that if it had passed, it would have been bad, and we should make sure it doesn’t come back again in the future by supporting him in working with CCM to ensure it doesn’t come back.
Ok.
So, in addition to his “taking a strong stance on blight and graffiti,” he is now vowing to take “a strong stance on bills such as this one from the legislature that do nothing to help elected officials.”
He then says “Our children deserve the comfort of having the best protection from drug dealers peddling their goods within the 1,500 radius of a school and parents deserve the same comfort level,” I, for one, would like to see the 1,500 radius increased rather than decreased.”
“Our city along with many other urban areas in our state are seeing a spike in drug related crimes and as we all know this can lead to increased crime rates and blight within our community.”
I hate to sound like a broken record but this is yet another example of Councilman Cockayne paying lip service to the voters of this city.
If he was so concerned about the impact of crime and drug activity then maybe he would have made time in his schedule to attend at least one of the Code Enforcement Committee meetings in the last 2 plus years.
I have reviewed all of their minutes and he did not attend a single meeting to lend some support to the effort to strengthen efforts to bring targeted properties under tighter scrutiny. The recent drug arrest at 12 Park Street is a perfect example of this – a property owned by one of the most well-known investor landlords in the area over the last 10 years.
Let’s put a substantive agenda for attacking some of these systemic issues in front of the voters instead of these pandering attempts at publicity.
How hard is it going to be for the next mayor to work with CCM by picking up the phone and voicing their opinion on proposed legislation? Not too hard.
How hard will it be for the next mayor to step up and invest time, resources, and knowledge in substantive policies and strategies that allow the city to reclaim its neighborhoods and ensure that future projects like new schools, downtown, and attracting new businesses and residents are successful? I know this – it will take much more than fluff news releases like this one.
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