No Ifs, Ands, or Butts About Smoking If Del Mar Votes to Snuff Out Puffing

Where there’s smoke, there’s political fire, and Del Mar has lots of smoke these days.

On Nov. 3, residents of this upscale beach community will vote on a proposal to ban smoking outdoors in public, the most restrictive anti-smoking measure proposed anywhere in the country.

Both the Tobacco Institute and the Berkeley-based Americans for Non-Smokers Rights are warily watching the election. Del Mar residents, true to their penchant for political activism, are choosing up sides.

Proposition N is the work of former Del Mar Mayor Richard Roe, who bypassed the City Council altogether and led a successful petition campaign to qualify the measure for the ballot. Opponents say the measure is unneeded, unworkable and probably just a splashy ploy by Roe to prepare for another run for public office.

Roe a Reformed Smoker

Undeterred, the 51-year-old jogger, bicyclist and reformed smoker says Del Mar is the perfect place to begin making smoking socially unacceptable and thus start saving lives.

“Del Mar exemplies the healthy life style, with a lot of people very serious about diet and exercise--running, bicycling, swimming,” Roe said. “Del Mar has a chance to be a leader in ending the hypocrisy about smoking. We know that smoking is bad for you, but then we say it’s perfectly OK to smoke.

“No wonder kids pick up that contradiction and start smoking.”

Roe’s reentry into local politics has been greeted with all the joy of a cheap cigar in a crowded elevator.

The Chamber of Commerce opposes Proposition N.

Restaurant owners are major donors to Residents for Responsible Regulation, formed to fight N.

A Del Mar real estate firm has donated space so a telephone brigade can get out the No-on-N message.

Roe’s opponents include business people, civil libertarians like political maverick Harvey Furgatch, and even some of Roe’s former allies among Del Mar’s “green” party, which usually battles in favor of environmental concerns. The anti-N cause is also being aided by former Mayor Tom Shepard.

The current, smoking mayor, Ronnie Delaney, signed the anti-N ballot statement, and the non-smoking deputy mayor, Scott Barnett, debated Roe on radio.

Barnett complained that Roe ignored the City Council and did not give it a chance to see if modifications were needed to the current anti-smoking ordinance.

“He just went ahead with his initiative and then we have no choice but to enact it if voters approve,” Barnett said. “There can be no flexibility in dealing with the issue.”

Part of the Process

“That’s part of the democratic process, Scott,” Roe answered. “I hope you approve of the initiative process. If you don’t approve of the initiative process, then that’s OK, too, Scott, but I do. I think the public has a right to collect signatures and put it to a vote of the people.”

Del Mar’s current ordinance, a precursor to those adopted in most San Diego County cities, bans smoking in stores and requires no-smoking sections in most workplaces and restaurants.

Proposition N would ban smoking in all streets, alleys, parks, beaches and meeting places that are publicly owned. The Del Mar Fairgrounds and outdoor cafes on public sidewalks would be exempt, as would private property, cars and motels.

Offenders would receive at least one warning. A first infraction would mean a fine of up to $100. A second within a year would bring a fine of up to $200.

Restaurants could allow smoking in “closed” areas, using physical barriers and ventilation to keep smoke from wafting over to non-smokers.

As a sop to the addicted, Proposition N calls for three outside smoking areas on public property, each no more than 1,000 square feet. The anti-N forces ridicule these as “smoking pens” and suggest changing the town’s civic slogan to: “Del Mar: Where the Puff Meets the Tough.”

Enormous Costs Claimed

Roe sees the ordinance as self-regulating, with smokers and non-smokers alike voluntarily complying. Opponents suggest enormous cost in cracking down on offenders.

“I’m not Carrie Nation, out there smashing cigarette machines,” Roe said. “But I want a different attitude toward smoking. Nicotine is a drug and it’s killing 350,000 people a year. I want to change that.”

So far, Roe has loaned the campaign $3,442 for mailers and other political paraphernalia. Residents for Responsible Regulation, the anti-N group, reports contributions of $3,165, and a large chunk of that was used to hire San Diego political consultant Sara Katz.

“We think that the laws are already in place to adequately address the smoking problem in Del Mar,” said graphic designer Pat Barnett, chairwoman of the Chamber of Commerce’s committee on legislation and mother of Scott Barnett.

“The current ordinance should be enforced,” she said. “This proposed ordinance, depending on what type of construction is required for restaurants, could be very costly. As for the outdoor ban, that’s just silly.”

Nationwide Interest

The Tobacco Institute and Americans for Non-Smokers Rights, bitter antagonists in most civic disputes over smoking regulations, are monitoring Proposition N but are not directly involved.

The institute, with headquarters in Washington, D.C., and regional offices in Sacramento and Anaheim, stands ready to contribute to the anti-N side if it runs out of money.

“We usually get in as a last resort,” said Ron Saldana, the institute’s regional director for four western states. “We’ve been watching the citizens down there rally to oppose this. It looks mostly like an internal political issue for Del Mar.

“It’s hard for an outsider, particularly the Tobacco Institute, to go in and tell people how to vote, without causing a backlash.”

Americans for Non-Smokers Rights has declined to endorse Proposition N, preferring instead to work for more modest ordinances that deal with clean air in the workplace and other enclosed areas.

“We support a community’s right to protect its health,” said Julia Carol, the group’s associate director. “But this is not our type of ordinance, and it is not the type of ordinance we are recommending for other cities.”

On two points, Saldana and Carol agree: the Del Mar ordinance is unprecedented, and it is not likely to start a trend.

“Nobody has dreamed up anything this radical,” said Saldana. “Del Mar is an isolated, unique community. This looks like a political ploy on Mr. Roe’s part to get recognition to get back into politics. I don’t see this spreading at all to major cities like San Diego.”

Roe, a member of the Del Mar council from 1978 to 1982 before being defeated for state Assembly by Republican Sunny Mojonnier, admits loving the “debate and confrontation” of politics. But he denies any plans to seek office.

He is vice president in charge of publications for University Associates, a business book publishing firm based in San Diego.

“Yes, I think being involved in the political process is a worthy goal, but I am not using this to propel myself into political office,” Roe said. “There is no political office I aspire to. Being a Democrat in North County is like a fish out of water.”