I applaud them today for recognizing the US Constitution:

A legislative committee recommended passage of a statewide ban on red light traffic cameras this morning.

That is pretty strong committee support. I predict it will pass on a full vote, and it should. Fining people without an appeals process or REAL proof of guilt (fining the license plate instead of the driver) is unjustified. It’s also unconstitutional. The guilty should always get their day in court.

Image; Austin Chronicle

A snowball chance in Hell;

Sioux Falls, on the other hand, wants to see the Supreme Court uphold the administrative appeals process it uses to deal with the small percentage of people who contest tickets for red light running at 10th and Minnesota and for a wide variety of city ordinance violations.

LMAO! I don’t see that happening.

“We knew it was a case for the Supreme Court. It was just a matter of who was going to file the appeal,” Eiseland said.

That ruling will be a good day for SF residents and a very bad day for the city’s attorney’s office.

The cameras have been shut down and now if we can dismantle our unconstitutional code enforcement system things my start getting better;

At 2:30 p.m., Police Chief Doug Barthel announced that the automated system would be shut down indefinitely while the city awaits a final ruling in a 2006 lawsuit filed by Sioux Falls businessman I.L. Wiedermann.

This is a MASSIVE constitutional victory for the citizens of SF. Remember, this isn’t about running red lights and safety, this is about due process and your rights. You should be able to face your accuser in a court of law.

While I.L. Wiedermann is a little rough around the edges, I have defended him before, a week after he almost got thrown out of a council meeting, I showed up to the meeting and chastised the mayor about first amendment rights and told him and the council if they can’t take criticism they should resign. When I sat down, a plain clothes PO hovered over me, I turned around and gave him a dirty look, and he walked off. I.L. and Dan Daily have sacrificed a lot for our rights, and they deserve a big ‘Thank You’. Whether you agree or not, the US Constitution is there to protect you from big brother.

What is it with this city and their ignorance of the constitution and state law? This of course comes as no surprise;

Caldwell found that the city cannot legally write tickets for red-light running as it does now, treating the offense as a civil matter instead of a criminal matter.

This has been my main argument all along. Running red lights should be ILLEGAL but as Caldwell points out, it is a criminal matter. Why? Because some people get killed when they run red lights. If I had a loved one ran over by a red light runner, what would I prefer? They go to jail or that you wreck their credit?

Caldwell also ruled that the administrative appeals process is unconstitutional – a decision that mirrors one she made in a lawsuit over code violations brought against the city by Dan Daily.

Due Process. Due Process. Due Process. What part of that doesn’t the city freaking understand? Fascist regimes have been taken out of commission over history for a reason, while it may be good to be king it doesn’t work out so well for the subjects.

That process violates a citizen’s due process rights, Caldwell ruled. She did not, however, order the city to stop issuing red-light tickets or to dismantle the administrative appeals system.

Huh? So you are saying what the city is doing is unconstitutional but you did not advise them to dismantle the system? Nice. Caldwell is also part of the problem.

The city and Redflex were handed victories, as well. The city did not err by forbidding right turns at the intersection, did not place the lights improperly and Caldwell ruled that there is a legitimate public safety interest in operating the cameras.

There is legitimate public safety interests all over this city. Are we gonna put a camera in every intersection? We cannot trample the constitutional rights of all people because a few don’t know how to apply a brake pedal in their car.

As of today, the red-light cameras are still functional,” Barthel said.

Ignorance is bliss.

And that ignorance continues with this silly story by Stormland TV News on the issue;

In a written ruling a Sioux Falls judge dismissed most of the lawsuit,

WTF are you talking about? Violating state law and the constitution is a pretty major thing. When is Stormland TV going to remove their heads from their asses and stop being the propaganda wing for City Hall. Report the frickin’ news as it is – without the spin.

Want to make your home or business safer? The city wants to charge you for that.

The Gargoyle Leader is featuring two stories today about how the city council is at odds with Dr. Staggers (again) yet no mention of how they had a change of heart over one of Kermit’s suggestions. Last week Kermit suggested that a 23 page proposed city ordinance on alarm systems should go through committee first, because the ordinance is too far-reaching (it includes a licensing and registration fee to have a security system – that’s right kiddies, only in Sioux Falls would they find a way to charge you for making your business safer). At the time, most of the city council disagreed with Kermit and the PD proclaimed that they have spent “two years” writing the ordinance (like that makes it better). They felt that we should just ‘trust’ the PD. Well, big surprise in the informational meeting on Monday! After fielding many ‘concerns’ from constituents on the matter, the rest of the council decided it was a good idea to go to committee.

Once again, Kermit was with the citizens and right on the issue and the rest of the council was wrong. Is anyone detecting a trend here?

Now to the stories in the Gargoyle. The first one is a blatant attempt to smear Kermit a week before the election. It is clear that there is nothing wrong with Kermit wanting to exempt non-profits that help the homeless, but the rest of the council just can’t resist shooting him down, it was CLEARLY POLITICAL. Even Munson gets in the fight and tries to stifle Kermit (in between the babblings of Quen Be De Knudson).

Councilor Kermit Staggers introduced an amendment that would have added the proposed County Permanent Supportive Housing, St. Francis House and the Union Gospel Mission. “I think what we want to do with this amendment is to send a message that we are concerned about homeless people. I think that’s a very good message for us to send,” he said. Councilor Bob Litz, who proposed adding fire inspection fees to the exemption list, said Staggers’ amendment is veering away from the original intention of the ordinance. Since 1996, the exemptions have been applied toward projects involving volunteer labor and materials that promote affordable housing, city planning director Mike Cooper said. Cooper said the city would lose more money with multifamily projects such as homeless housing and estimated the city would lose a minimum $300 per unit for an apartment complex.

Cooper is concerned about the city losing a couple of grand while flushing $5 million down the toilet called the ‘River Greenway Project.’ Give me a f’ing break! This was clearly political.

And once again, Kermit has proven that he is on the right side of another issue;

Mayoral candidate and current City Councilor Kermit Staggers hopes that doesn’t happen. “I hope he wins,” Staggers said of Wiedermann. As a city councilor, Staggers has spoken against the cameras, often casting the lone vote for their removal. Countdown-number systems that show pedestrians and motorists how many seconds remain until the light turns yellow have been installed at some downtown crosswalks. Those systems are the proper way to deal with intersections that see a lot of foot traffic, Staggers said.

But Vernon can’t resist the urge to claim all drivers that go thru that intersection, “Guilty until proven innocent.”

Vernon Brown cited the death of Argus Leader employee Edie Adams, who was killed at the intersection of 10th and Minnesota as she crossed the street in 2003, as a reason that location needs the camera system.

That has always been my concern with the cameras. I assume the person who killed Adams was prosecuted and handed a punishment. So why do the rest of us have to pay for the crime? It is clear what kind of mayor Brown would make. He would probably ramp up code enforcement to an even higher level of ridiculousness. We need a mayor who trusts us as citizens to do the right thing, not presume we are all guilty.

HERE is Kermit’s TV spot

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMu7pbxMUyA&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]