Smoking Ban Upheld In Pueblo
Voters In Tavern-Heavy District Recall Council Member Who Supported Ban
POSTED: 6:24 am MDT May 21,
2003
UPDATED: 7:08 am MDT May 21,
2003
Another community in Colorado is on its way to being smoke-free.
Pueblo voters upheld an ordinance to ban smoking in bars, restaurants, bowling alleys, bingo halls and most other indoor public spaces.
The final tally from Tuesday's special election was 59 to 4 percent in favor of the smoking ban.The Pueblo City Council first approved the measure last December. It took effect Jan. 1, but within two weeks, opponents gathered enough petition signatures to force a special election challenging the law and asking voters to recall four council members who supported it.Under Pueblo's charter, that automatically suspended the ordinance until the election.In the end, only one council member was recalled.Councilman Ted Lopez Jr., a supporter of the ban, was recalled on a 53-to-47-percent vote in his district."If someone had told me in September that (voting for the smoking ban) would result with me being removed from office, I still would have voted for it," Lopez said.He said he may have been ousted because his district includes many bars, and some bar owners oppose the ban for fear it would hurt their business.Councilman Mike Occhiato, who survived a recall with 56 percent of the vote, said he was surprised by the margin of victory for the ordinance."I knew there was a lot of support for it, but I wasn't sure," he said.Some opponents of the ban characterized Pueblo as a blue-collar town whose working men and women wouldn't give up their right to light up at a neighborhood tavern. Supporters of the ban said the outcome proves them wrong."Pueblo's about more than that," Chris Nicoll said. "It really shows what a progressive community Pueblo really is."The ban will officially be back on the books as early as this Friday.
Pueblo voters upheld an ordinance to ban smoking in bars, restaurants, bowling alleys, bingo halls and most other indoor public spaces. Previous Stories:
- May 20, 2003: Pueblo Voters Hoping To Clear Smoking Ban Issue
- April 28, 2003: Denver To Announce Support Of Smoking Ban
- December 18, 2002: Fort Collins Snuffs Out Smoking
- November 20, 2002: Fort Collins Approves Anti-Smoking Ordinance
- November 19, 2002: Fort Collins May Go Smoke-Free
- October 24, 2002: Smoke-Free Denver Possible?
- October 8, 2002: No Lighting Up In Louisville
- August 26, 2002: Anti-Smoking Campaign Targets Colorado Smokers
Copyright 2005 by TheDenverChannel.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.







