September 24, 1999

Fairfield Mayor George Pettygrove's "incident" last week highlighted the hypocrisy of the War on Drugs. Consequences for those who misuse or abuse substances depend mostly on who you are and how old you are.

If you are a high school student in Fairfax County, Virginia, and you get caught with marijuana at an off-campus party, you can be expelled from school before any conviction, due process be damned. In California, a Santa Clara County Health Department survey revealed 40% of teens polled using alcohol regularly. The department recommends that adults set a good example by not abusing alcohol. Amen. Unfortunately, we in Fairfield are letting our kids down badly.

It is not my intention to trash Mr. Pettygrove. In fact, I am a recovering alcoholic, having quit 21 years ago when I joined Alcoholics Anonymous. My father was also an alcoholic, as were many of my relatives. Misuse of mind-altering chemicals is an inherited health problem and should be treated as such, although crimes committed while under the influence need to be adjudicated by the legal system with appropriate sanctions applied.

However, AA teaches that nobody can take someone else's "inventory" to decide if he or she is alcoholic. I don't know if our mayor was implying he's an alcoholic in the apology letter when he referred to "issues," but that's between himself and his conscience.

I do know that the letter of apology failed to impress me as a mea culpa for admittedly driving after drinking. It rings false when he claims never to have requested special treatment considering he identified himself to CHP officers as the mayor. Regardless, Mr. Pettygrove is within his rights to craft any response he wishes since no legal action was taken against him.

Council members' inaction and City Manager O'Rourke's suppression of the police department press release are the prime offenses because America is a land of laws, not men. Due to politics and arrogance, Mr. O'Rourke has decided to join the council in becoming part of Mr. Pettygrove's alcohol-related problems. This goes against the best interests of taxpayers and particularly the mayor if he is ever to "deal with" his "serious issues."

Apparently our city's leaders have decided against the tough actions required to set a good example. How sad for our kids and ourselves.

© 1999 Cynthia Hahn