Council Fails to Overturn Pit Bull Veto
Councilors vote to return the bill to committee, where councilors will consider proposed amendments by Mayor Gary Christenson.
Supporters of an ordinance that would muzzle new pit bulls in the city failed to overturn a mayoral veto Tuesday night, prompting the council to move the bill back into subcommittee for reconsideration.
Mayor Gary Christenson vetoed the bill, which offered an exemption for pit bulls and related breeds already registered with the city, saying it would be difficult to enforce and opened the city to litigation Friday.
The 6-5 vote failed to reach the 8 required for a veto reversal.
“The ordinance should be centered on how a dog behaves and not how a dog looks,” Christenson said in a letter to the council explaining his veto.
Christenson offered a number of amendments he said would strengthen the bill and protect residents without “breed-specific” legislation, though whether to include them all in a second attempt at a mayoral signature is up to the council.
howard mcgowan
10:20 am on Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Now is the time to move on and enforce the present leash laws. We should work toward having resposible pet owners. GET ON WITH THE CITIES BUSINESS.
Ken Howard
10:27 am on Wednesday, April 25, 2012
I hope the city council will be smart and not reconsider this anytime soon. As Howard said it is time to move on and enforce present leash laws. Considering how little time the city council actually meets they should be focusing on the larger issues facing this town.
AnnieOMalden
11:35 am on Wednesday, April 25, 2012
How about getting on the city and National Grid to fix the burned out street lights? That might go a long way to making people feel safer than muzzling one breed of dog that will move to the city after a specific date. With all Neil has on his plate, why does he invest so much of his time on something like this and neglecting the obvious problems with real solutions? His priorities again are off the mark. We have about 2 months before the Council goes on vacation. How about making real progress this time instead of the usual smoke and mirrors?
Pancar
5:45 pm on Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Excellent!
Stinkpit
8:08 pm on Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Wow, does the mayor know what he's doing vetoing something Kinnon proposed? you dont do that to the exhaulted ruler, so he thinks...
betty geist
9:11 pm on Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Kinnon is A spoiled kid that want to get his way GROW THE HELL UP
Stinkpit
10:08 pm on Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Maybe Kinnon should worry about more important matters: public safety, schools, crime issues. He just wants to shove stuff down the council, mayor, and citizen's throats. Shame on him. He should not be a dictator and maybe people are starting to see his true colors. He thinks its his way or the highway. Maybe 93N is a good start for him.
betty geist
3:32 pm on Thursday, April 26, 2012
Here one http://malden.advocatenews.net/council-takes-a-bite-out-of-dog-muzzle-ordinance-10-1/
And here a little piece of Councillor Kinnon said, “I am sad and disappointed that the Mayor, who I respect greatly, missed the opportunity to make our city a safer and more desirable place to live by vetoing the pit bull ordinance. The supposed amendment he sent back provides nothing more than our current ordinance on dogs in Chapter 9 section 16 through 25 and is an attempt to make people believe somehow he is proposing something that will make them safer. Sixty percent of all disfiguring and fatal dog attacks nationally are committed by this breed when they make up five percent or less of the dog population. A pit bull bite is not a typical dog bite. The Mayor’s proposal to classify dogs as vicious only after they have bitten is like the person who knows they have high cholesterol saying they are going to take care of themselves after they have their first heart attack.”
howard mcgowan
5:39 pm on Thursday, April 26, 2012
the Malden Citizens have spoken! Get on with the Cities Business]
Mayor Christenson respects our majority view