Oshkosh shelves petition to cut pot fines despite advocates meeting signature goal

OSHKOSH – The Oshkosh Common Council brushed off a petition Tuesday that advocates say should have forced voters to decide if the city's pot penalties are too harsh.

After failing to drum up enough valid signatures last year, a group of advocates surpassed their goal on a measure to lower Oshkosh's fine for low-level marijuana possession from $325 to $25. They argued the petition would force the city to confront the issue in an up-or-down voter referendum on the spring ballot.

But city officials argued the petition would do no such thing, and council voted 7-0 to simply file the petition, a decision that could stop the measure in its tracks.

Organizer Mark Kelderman said after the vote that he and his group are frustrated by the council's decision and may mount a legal challenge. The petition, he said, was intended to force the city to change its laws through a referendum. The council's action Tuesday doesn't accomplish what petitioners hoped. Nor did talk Tuesday among city officials of revisiting the issue, or putting it up for a non-binding advisory referendum.

"We are here to defend rigorously the 4,500 people who signed this petition," Kelderman said, addressing council. "I'm just asking you to work with us as opposed to against us. There are other options that don't have to result in litigation."

RELATED: Petition to ease Oshkosh pot penalties may surface again this fall

RELATED: Oshkosh Common Councilor Caroline Panske convicted of marijuana posession

Organizers ultimately produced some 3,700 signatures in favor of loosening Oshkosh's marijuana laws, enough, in theory, to compel a referendum. Though organizers collected 4,500 signatures, hundreds were deemed invalid. Petitioners ultimately corrected enough to meet the requirement.

This year's effort follows an unsuccessful drive last year, when organizers turned in a flawed set of more than 4,000 signatures, prompting the city to file and dismiss the measure.

Though petitioners met their goal this year, Oshkosh City Attorney Lynn Lorenson argued in a memo to the council that the measure would override the city's existing ordinance, which a petition for direct legislation can't do.

Brian Hamill, an Oshkosh attorney representing the petitioners, disputed this interpretation, and asked the council to put the issue up for a vote anyway.

"Whether you like that or not, or whether you’re behind that, the reason that this sort of direct legislation occurs is because citizens should have a voice here," he said.

The effort aims to make Oshkosh's penalty for marijuana posession among the lowest in Wisconsin, where local laws vary widely. In Kenosha, those caught possessing marijuana face a $750 fine, while Stevens Point charges just $100 and is considering legalizing possession of up to an ounce of pot for those 21 and older.

Oshkosh Police Chief Dean Smith said it should be up to state and federal lawmakers to change marijuana laws. His department recorded 127 marijuana ordinance violations in 2017, an uptick from 122 violations last year, he said.

Speaking in favor of the petition, Cindy Lou Kerwin said her partner has used marijuana as a cancer treatment, a choice permitted by medical marijuana laws nearby in Michigan, Minnesota and Illinois.

"All these other states that are right next to us can get this medicine," she said. "I want this to happen. So do a lot of other people."

The question of weather to loosen Oshkosh's marijuana laws dredged up strong opinions among council. While Councilors Lori Palmeri, Deb Allison-Aasby and Tom Pech Jr. hinted at compromise amid their skepticism, Mayor Steve Cummings was more blunt.

"Don’t use it and don’t be dumb enough to get caught if you do use it," he said. "We all have choices."

Meanwhile, Councilor Caroline Panske, who faces drug charges of her own, pushed back.

"It is not our place to tell people what they can and cannot do in their homes, in their vehicles, whatever it may be. That’s law enforcement’s place," Panske said. "We’re not all just stoners sitting around and eating Doritos. We’re elected officials. We’re doctors. We’re teachers, we’re parents, we’re students, we’re all sorts of people."

Panske was convicted in August on misdemeanor counts of possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia after an officer found five joints in her car during a July traffic stop in Waushara County. She will be sentenced on Dec. 10.

"Mr. Mayor, I made a choice," Panske said, leaning over to address Cummings. "I was given a free joint, and I had it in my car, now I’m facing six months in jail and a fine of $1,000. You don’t think that’s ridiculous at any level?"

"You broke the law," Cummings said, cutting in.