Save people, not deer

Mayor Mark Kruzan showed his soft spot for all things furry when he vetoed Bloomington’s deer sharpshooting ordinance, preventing a proposal that would allow professional sharpshooters to control the deer population at the Griffy Lake Nature Preserve.

Kruzan rejected the ordinance, which was backed by research and proposed to protect the preserve’s environment, “as a matter of conscience.”
The Editorial Board thinks it’s sweet our mayor has a soft spot for animals. We just wish he showed the same sensitivity toward people.

Kruzan has repeatedly voiced his opposition to extending the season of the Interfaith Winter Shelter, Bloomington’s only low-barrier homeless shelter, into the summer months.

Interfaith was forced to close its doors April 1, leaving its residents on the hard pavement until the shelter opens again in the winter.   

He refused to work with Interfaith to let it shelter residents in places under the city’s jurisdiction, such as vacant lots or empty city-owned buildings.
Kruzan said he opposes Interfaith because its services entice people experiencing homelessness from other communities to come to Bloomington, encouraging the migration of people from around the country.

However, this is just an excuse to hide what the real problem is — Kruzan does not want people experiencing homelessness to give the city a bad image.

The problem is more cosmetic than logistic. Kruzan does not want to sponsor a low-barrier shelter because he does not want Bloomington to be known to outsiders as a homeless Mecca or for an influx of people experiencing homelessness.

People in our own city have been denied a chance to survive under relatively safe and stable conditions.

And yet Kruzan’s real moral dilemma is saving deer.

We would like to know where the mayor’s “conscience” was when he threw nearly 60 of Interfaith’s residents out on the streets.

In his letter to the City Council, Kruzan said he sees the ordinance’s proposal to kill deer as outweighing the environmental benefits.

Using this same logic, we see human survival as outweighing the cosmetic problem that comes with a large population of people experiencing
homelessness.

Bloomington likes to think of itself as progressive. In this community, we all deserve a chance to succeed, regardless of race, sex, sexual orientation or, theoretically, economic status.

The mayor’s lack of action to save Interfaith reflects his refusal to address that last category.

He is ignoring real problems that face real people in our community and instead is apparently mounting an animal rights campaign.  

The Editorial Board would much rather the mayor confront the issue of homelessness instead of hoping it goes away on its own or becomes another city’s problem.

If Kruzan wants to summon his sentimentality and sense of values for a city ordinance, he should direct it toward a proposal that allows Interfaith to stay open year-round. Or support any proposal to help the poor and homeless in the Bloomington community.   

The mayor needs to get his priorities straight. People trump deer, always.

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