News
By Riley McDonald
|
January 24, 2003
After a petition opposing a potential war in Iraq and bearing over 2,000 signatures was presented to Charlottesville City Council on Tuesday, Council members will vote to pass their own resolution addressing the threat of war early next month.
"This is an issue that comes very, very close to home for us, and when 2000 citizens petition you to take a stand, I feel an obligation to be responsive," Mayor Maurice Cox said.
The Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice presented the petition on Tuesday along with a resolution that it had drafted opposing war with Iraq.
Board member Sarah Lanzman said the Center included the signatures in order to show Charlottesville's wide support for peace, and to encourage Council not to deviate too far from their original resolution.
"You can go ahead and change it, but if you change it too drastically, it's not what the people are supporting," she said.
Cox said it is the norm for Council to draft its own resolutions.
"Resolutions have to reflect opinions of those on Council," he said.
The center's resolution was "an extraordinarily forceful and decisive resolution against war with Iraq," Cox said.
The original resolution joined 42 other cities, including Washington, D.C.