New Jersey Mayor: ‘I Don’t Have a Butt Patrol’
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Also in our State & Local roundup: Hurricane Hugo, 25 years later; governor vetoes men’s room baby-changing table mandate.
Here are some stories you may have missed from around the country this weekend …
WILDWOOD, New Jersey: Here’s something you don’t hear a mayor say everyday: “We don’t go out hunting it down. I don’t have a butt patrol,” Mayor Ernie Troiano Jr. told Michael Miller of The Press of Atlantic City. This Jersey Shore town instituted its controversial “saggy pants” ordinance in 2013, which prohibits an individual having their underwear show above their shorts or jeans. But the city has not yet fined anyone.
SACRAMENTO, California: Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed legislation late last week that would have updated existing California laws to ensure that men’s restrooms in public places have baby-changing tables, just like women’s restrooms. "At a time when so many have raised concerns about the number of regulations in California, I believe it would be more prudent to leave the matter of diaper changing stations to the private sector," Brown said, according to Reuters. "This may be a good business practice, but not one that I am inclined to legislation.
CHARLESTON, South Carolina: Twenty-five years ago this weekend, Hurricane Hugo battered this historic port city as a Category 4 storm, flooding streets, causing major damage and killing 13 people across South Carolina. Bruce Smith of The Associated Press writes that Hugo “was a defining moment for this almost 350-year old city and the mayor who has served it longer than any other.” Says Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr.: “It was the most important time of my service because people’s lives were at stake and people’s futures were at stake.”
PHOENIX, Arizona: Campaigning against the Common Core might score points with certain voters, but getting rid of the controversial education standards is not a simple process in Arizona. As Mary Beth Faller of The Arizona Republic notes:
Setting academic guidelines is done by the state Board of Education, whose members are appointed by the governor. It would be up to the board to change Arizona's College and Career Ready Standards.
The next governor could appoint up to five new members to the 11-member board next year.
With the state superintendent as a member, that would make a majority of new members in 2015.
However, choosing five like-minded members to join the board is not a slam dunk for the next governor.
DALLAS, Texas: A state law passed in 2013 that opens the doors to municipal employees running for public office without resigning from their current job has allowed at least one Dallas city worker to jump into a City Council race. As Tom Benning of The Dallas Morning News reports, under Dallas’ city charter, Randall Parker would have been barred from running for office while still employed by the city. “Just because you are a public sector employee, that doesn’t mean you give up your rights to participate in our democratic process,” said the law’s sponsor, State Rep. Lon Burnam.