THE SHORT VERSION: We're facing a local ballot proposal in less than 30 20 days which, if passed, would FORCE the city council to build a Nativity display on city hall property. While this sort of issue pops up several times every year somewhere or another in the nation, to my knowledge this is the first time that there's been a city ordinance on the ballot which would specifically REQUIRE church & state to mix in such a fashion.
Visit my earlier diaries on the subject for the whole backstory.
Today, Citizens for Religious Freedom (ie, those of us who are AGAINST the proposal, which INCLUDES the current mayor and all but one member of the city council) have an important announcement to make.
Jerry Durst served as the mayor of Berkley, MI for two terms, from 1991-1995. He's also known as the proprietor of Durst Lumber, a local hardware/lumber store and one of the mainstay businesses of Berkley (though I believe his daughter runs the store now).
In any event, Mr. Durst remains a beloved figure here; his love of the city of Berkley is renowned, and his opinion on any local issue is highly regarded and respected. Many of us were disturbed to learn that he had endorsed the "Vote Yes" side of this issue.
The good news is that after further careful consideration, Mr. Durst has abandoned the "Vote Yes" position and has given us permission to release the following letter to the press (I've boldfaced key points and broken it into paragraphs for better online readability):
I write this letter to set the record straight on where I stand on the nativity issue in our city. As a former mayor of Berkley, I continue to be humbled that so many residents value my views on important issues. I have been spending the winters in Florida and so I missed the full discussion of this topic last year. Therefore, I was not properly advised of all of the implications of this vote and so I felt that leaving the nativity at city hall would be fine. That is the reason I agreed to be associated with the effort to do so.
However, studying the issue further I have come to understand that the decision of Council last winter was to place the nativity in our downtown at the Methodist Church beside the Post Office. Their decision was supported by the clergy, the legal advisors of the city and a broad spectrum of the community. Being in Florida, I was not fully aware of that solution. Essentially, the proponents of the yes vote didn’t tell me the entire story. On further research, I clearly understand the importance of not amending the charter. It avoids long court battles that could bankrupt the city.
As you know, I have always fought hard to protect the finances of the city so that the taxpayers are not overburdened. The council’s decision not only does that, it also preserves the sanctity of Christmas. I encourage all residents to study the issue as I have; it’s easy to be deceived regarding this matter. Therefore, I ask the "vote yes" folks to please stop using my name in their literature.
As Mayor I swore to uphold the Charter of the City and with this amendment any Mayor or Council would be setting up the city for a lawsuit. A court decision like that handed down to the people of Dover, Pa., in 2005 cost 1 million dollars ... that would be 153 dollars per Berkley household. This would be a significant burden on our taxpayers.
Sincerely,
(signed)
Jerold Durst
Berkley Mayor 1991-1995
Obviously this won't mean much to anyone from outside the Berkley area, but to the local community, this change of heart by Mr. Durst means a LOT.
As the chair of the "Vote NO" group noted, it also carries an important lesson for all of us when working on other campaigns, both large and small: We have to find a way to talk to every voter, because many of them have never really had the issue (whatever it is) explained to them.
This is an important development in our little nativity display battle.
To learn more about this ongoing saga, visit our website at http://www.citizensforreligiousfreed... and help us get Berkley residents to Vote NO on Nov. 6th!
http://www.citizensforreligiousfreed...
http://www.berkleyvoteno.org