One of the joys of living in this town is the engagement most citizens have with the issues of the day. Especially local issues. Be it the tripling of water rates, firing a high school basketball coach or giving away the store to Zipcar, folks have an opinion.

And, unlike other towns where folks might keep their opinions to themselves, in Davis folks aren’t shy. Everyone, it seems, is an expert on every issue. Which makes sense, I suppose, when you consider that half the people in town have a Ph.D. behind their names and the other half think they should.

The esteemed members of our City Council, always trying to stay one step ahead of the educated electorate, are constantly coming up with ideas and proposed ordinances they never talked about when they were running for office.

That, of course, is nothing new. Issues come and go, but we’re stuck with the people we elect. I mean, when they were campaigning for president in 2008, I don’t recall John McCain or Barack Obama ever mentioning unrest in Egypt, war with Libya or how to deal with a nuclear disaster in Japan.

The same with the Davis City Council. Did anyone actually campaign on bringing Zipcar to Davis or banning fireplaces or making the use of plastic grocery bags against the law?

None of this is lost on my friend Stephen on the Tree Streets, who, commenting on the proposed plastic bag ban says: “I have written a letter to all the City Council members, asking them not to support the proposal, which I believe is a heavy-handed approach, instead of simply educating people to make good choices in using available methods for recycling.”

Much too reasonable an approach, Stephen. What’s the good of holding elective office in a small town in Northern California if you can’t do some first-in-the-nation, cutting-edge piece of legislation that will land you an early-morning slot on the “Today” show? Asking citizens of the Second Most Educated City in America to be “reasonable” just doesn’t fit that bill.

“As a long-time resident of Davis, I do my share in the recycling effort,” Stephen adds. “All my plastic shopping bags are put into a bucket in the garage. Most are then returned immediately to Safeway for recycling.”

Recycling? What a novel idea. Unfortunately, the council didn’t think of that one first.

“The rest are used when I take the dog out for a walk — not only for what you think, but to pick up bottles, cans and other trash dropped in the nearby Sycamore Park.”

Maddening, isn’t it, how flippant people are with their trash.

“The bottles and cans are then emptied into my DWR recycling bin when I return home, and the bags are then recycled at Safeway.”

Before we name Stephen as Citizen of the Year, what’s wrong with this picture? If you answered “absolutely nothing,” you would be right. But to hear the bag banners tell it, Stephen is the exception and not the norm. And besides, we’d really, really, really like to ban something.

“I sometimes use my own cloth bag at stores, but they do not always serve my needs. Surely, if we choose plastic or paper bags, we can be responsible for recycling them, just as we recycle other things in this town.”

What does logic have to do with this argument, Stephen?

“The use of plastic bags in Davis poses no threat to the residents of Davis that I know of. In addition, the reporting mechanism written into the ordinance will create a hardship for local stores. As you have noted, this appears to be a solution in search of a problem”

Indeed. I honestly can’t tell you the last time I saw a plastic grocery bag blowing in the wind. Or heading for the Pacific Ocean. And I continue to see recycling bins for these plastic bags at more and more retailers around town.

“Hopefully, it is not about upholding the city’s reputation for being on the environmental cutting edge. That may be great PR, but it’s a poor reason for enacting an ordinance.”

Amen, brother, amen.

— Reach Bob Dunning at [email protected]

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