21 Makes Sense group kicks off campaign to keep ordinance in place

IOWA CITY -- Even though 21 Makes Sense organizers say they know there is more community support for the ordinance now than there was three years ago, they plan to run an active, aggressive campaign to keep it in place.

Those plans come one day after the City Council voted to order the Johnson County auditor to place a referendum to repeal the city's 21-only ordinance, which bans people under 21 from being in bars after 10 p.m., on the Nov. 5 ballot Tuesday night. The ordinance, which was put in place by the council in spring 2010, came to light again this year after a bar owner and manager filed a petition to repeal it in June.

Presenting both anecdotal and data-driven evidence, leaders of the 21 Makes Sense campaign -- which include representatives from both the city and the University of Iowa --  insisted Wednesday that members of the community, business owners, and students are better off three years after the 21-ordinance.

"We didn't know what the effects on downtown would be, we didn't know if it would drive drinking elsewhere, we didn't know if it would hurt the University of Iowa enrollment, we didn't even know if it would help solve the actual problems," said Tom Rocklin, co-chair of the 21 Makes Sense campaign and vice president of student services at the UI. "There are no unknowns now, the ordinance has been an unmitigated success."

Though Rocklin and other co-chairs of the campaign said they trust the community's judgement and are confident people will vote "no"  on Nov. 5 to keep the 21-ordinance in place,  they plan to run a strong campaign from the beginning in order to ensure the ordinance is not overturned.

"Believe me, we do not want to be here today, I think it's safe to say that the community, the university the city and the media is tired of this issue, but we will defend the ordinance because it's important to Iowa City and it's role in the resurgence of downtown," said Iowa City Mayor Matt Hayek, who also serves as co-chair of the group.

During the press conference, the group drew on statistics they say debunk previous fears of what the ordinance might cause, and  prove the ordinance has worked.

On the UI front, Rocklin reported enrollment for first time, first-year students has increased in recent years. So much so, that the UI is building a new residence hall and leasing space off campus to accommodate students. He said enrollment has increased from 4,063 in 2009 to 4,470 in 2012, despite concerns that the ordinance would cause enrollment to drop.

Rocklin also presented other statistics, based on a survey from the National College Health Assessment, that showed a 10 percent decline in the percent of UI students experiencing negative consequences as a result of drinking, and data from the Iowa City Police Department that he said indicates partying has not moved to the neighborhoods.

"I can't quite fathom where this is coming from," Rocklin said. "We know that things have gotten better, we haven't heard anybody dispute that."

The petition for a repeal of the law was started by George Wittgraf, who owns the Union Bar, and Josh Erceg, a manager at Martini's. Wittgraf has previously said he filed the petition for students, and that a repeal could benefit his business financially. As of Wednesday evening, it was unclear what the opposing side's campaign would look like to repeal the ordinance in November.