A proposed downtown ordinance that could affect Penn State party-throwers was the main topic of discussion at the Penn State College Republican's meeting Tuesday night -- two days after the Democratic mayoral candidate reversed her position.
Republican mayoral candidate Joe Wakeley said he never supported the proposed Nuisance Gathering Ordinance, which would fine and potentially jail party hosts for crimes committed by their guests -- even if the crime was committed off the host's property.
"It's a flip flop," Wakeley said before the meeting of his opponent Elizabeth Goreham's reversal.
But Goreham, who was not at the meeting, said her political pivot highlights her strength to work with all constituencies.
"I heard the students' concerns and I looked at it further," Goreham said. "We need to work on this together -- that's what politics is all about."
Wakeley questioned whether the ordinance was legally constitutional before a crowd of about 40 students who attended Tuesday night's meeting inside the Osmond Building.
"I didn't think it would fly," he said. "It doesn't look good to me."
Although the ordinance might not pass in its current form, new amendments might adjust the parameters of it, said Brett Fisher, the only Penn State student running for a seat on the State College Borough Council and an opponent of the ordinance.
One of those amendments could include implementing a 100 foot distance for where the crimes would be committed, Fisher said at the meeting.
"That's probably reasonable," Goreham said of the amendment. "But it needs to be defined. This demonstrates the need for more town and gown dialogue."
Wakeley said students have different wants and needs than the locals and that those needs should be heard.
Fisher said he wants to be the Borough Council member who makes the student voice heard -- but the students at the meeting questioned whether he was the man for the job.
Fisher, who said he voted for President Barack Obama in the last presidential election, reassured them that he would still represent their viewpoints.
"I did vote for Obama -- oh my gosh, end of the world -- but when it comes to local politics it's local issues," Fisher said. "It's not about whether the war in Iraq is right, it's about the local issues."
