According to an article in today's Grand Rapids Press, the Grand Rapids City Commission is planning to draft a resolution opposing the Iraq War.
The Press reports that a resolution will be drafted by 2nd Ward Commissioner Rick Tormala and 3rd Ward Commissioner James White for consideration at the City Commission's August 28 meeting. Commissioner White supports having some type of "national teleconference" to seek answers from the White House about current Iraq policy, while Commissioner Tormala has advocated for resolution to address the costs of the war to the city of Grand Rapids, stating "Why should we be building fire stations in Iraq and not in the United States?." Tormala also is calling for provisions that would grant hiring preferences for city jobs to veterans of the Iraq War. The only commissioner speaking against the resolution in the article was Commissioner Roy Schmidt who said that he believes the city would be straying from its "mission" of dealing "with the war on poverty, the war on gang violence and the war on diminishing resources the state is giving us." Schmidt also said that he would not stand in the way of a unanimous vote on the resolution.
Representative Vern Ehlers, who has been a strong supporter of the war since its inception, is also consulted in the article about the effect that the resolution might have on his view of the war. Ehlers--who has recently declared that he will not be swayed by protestors--said that the resolution would not affect his position on the war. Ehlers is quoted saying "I think the city has enough problems of its own to deal with without getting into foreign affairs" and that he has "always tried to avoid telling people in other offices what to do."
The article specifically mentions the cost of the war in Iraq as a reason why organizers are pushing for the resolution, with the Press reporting the cost of the war for Grand Rapids' residents as $237 million (http://www.costofwar.com). The cost of the war for Ehlers' third congressional district has been estimated at $818 million, while the cost for the entire state has been estimated at $12.2 billion. A report containing those numbers was delivered to Ehlers by antiwar protestors last week.
The article cites renewed antiwar efforts locally, naming Americans Against Escalation in Iraq's Iraq Summer campaign, as reasons why the resolution is being brought up. It does not mention a recent effort by the Green Party of Kent County to bring the resolution before the Commission, an attempt to pass a similar resolution in 2006, or an effort to pass a resolution against the impending invasion of Iraq in early 2003.
In Michigan, Ann Arbor, Ferndale, and Kalamazoo have already passed resolutions against the ongoing war in Iraq. The most recent was Kalamazoo, which passed its resolution in June of 2006. Around the United States, more than 100 cities have passed resolutions against the Iraq War.
