Bolkcom and Mascher join 21 Makes Sense
Two local legislators have joined the 21 Makes Sense campaign, adding to the list of big names co-chairing the organization, including Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz and Rep. Vicki Lensing, D-Iowa City.
Sen. Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa City, and Rep. Mary Mascher, D-Iowa City, said they agreed to co-chair 21 Makes Sense after Mayor Matt Hayek asked them last weekend to participate in the campaign.
This makes Bolkcom the first Iowa senator and Mascher the second representative to join the pro-21-ordinance campaign.
Former Iowa City Mayor and 21 Makes Sense Co-Chairman Ernie Lehman said high-profile support from such people as Bolkcom and Mascher is what the campaign needs to win the issue for 21 proponents.
“The fact that they are very visible and very respected people in the community certainly adds credibility to the people who would like to see a 21-ordinance,” Lehman said.
Bolkcom said he supports the measure for reasons of student health.
“It’s an impossible challenge for bar owners to place every single patron in their establishments who is underage,” he said. “The notion that those young people are not drinking seems to be kind of preposterous.”
For Mascher, concerns about student binge drinking, date rape, and fighting downtown have accumulated over the time she has lived in Iowa City.
“This is just a piece of the puzzle in terms of what we need to be doing to find alternatives for students,” the University of Iowa alumna said. “It’s gotten so much worse in terms of drinking culture, and we, as a community, need to address it.”
Additionally, she said, the university’s reputation was bothersome.
“I don’t want this school or institution to be known as one of the party schools throughout the nation,” Mascher said. “I think that’s a terrible claim to fame.”
She said she has spoken with Tom Rocklin, the interim UI vice president for Student Services, about asking students about their opinions on the drinking culture and what they would enjoy doing other than drinking.
City Councilor Susan Mims, a 21 Makes Sense steering committee member, also said she thinks having the support of such influential figures will help the campaign.
“I hope [Bolkcom and Mascher’s endorsements] help bring attention to the campaign, and people can get educated about the issue so they know what they are voting for come November,” she said.
With both Mascher and Bolkcom up for re-election this year, the senator and the representative could have more at stake with thousands of students likely to show up to the polls if the 21-only measure is on the ballot. The City Council will vote at its July 12 meeting whether to put the issue to a vote.
Both Mascher and Bolkcom said they considered how supporting the 21-ordinance would affect the votes of some of their younger voters, but Bolkcom said he believed there are greater concerns.
“I think this issue is an important issue, and I think the health of young people coming to Iowa City to get an education trumps how I’m going to go on the ballot this fall,” he said.
21 Makes Sense plans to hold a news conference on Wednesday at noon.
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