4/19/01 - Good news for NYC ferret enthusiasts... Today the 9 members of the NY City Council's Health Committee voted in FAVOR of sending the bill to the entire council for a vote (5 for, 1 against, 2 abstained, 1 absent). The No vote was Una Clarke of Brooklyn, who touted herself as a former schoolteacher. (I guess she didn't do her homework.) If you live in her district, make sure you contact her to let her know how you feel about what she did, and urge her to change her vote next month in the full council. Council members Sheldon Leffler (D-Manhattan) and James Oddo (R-Staten Island) abstained because they claimed they didn't know enough about the issue. They need to be educated by their constituents, too. This got some tv press tonight, including an endorsement by Council Speaker (and Mayoral candidate) Peter Vallone, and the usual nasty dismissive remarks by Mayor Giuliani at his daily press conference. Check Friday morning's papers for more coverage. Because the Mayor is sure to veto the bill when it's passed, it's IMPORTANT that we all contact our council members to ensure the two-thirds needed to override his veto. There are 51 council members, all but 7 are democrats. In the mean time, I urge you to support Kathryn Freed, the bill's sponsor, in her bid to become NYC Public Advocate. We need to keep ferret-friendly politicians in office. You can find info on her at http://members.aol.com/NYCFerrets/freed/campaign/camp_running.html Also, NYC Ferrets is at http://members.aol.com/NYCFerrets The next vote should come in about a month, so we don't have much time. More on what we need to do later. For now, let's just be thankful the ball is rolling toward ferret legalization in NYC! [Posted in FML issue 3393]