In a childish attempt to scare the Madison community into revoking the smoking ban, the Dane County Tavern League issued an ultimatum.
The league announced April 7 its decision to indefinitely defund community events lest Madison residents and lawmakers warm to the league's business interests.
The league cited the smoking ban and consequential decline in membership and dues as the main source of financial woe precipitating the decision. The league also faces impending court fees for its defense in an antitrust case on the State Supreme Court docket.
In the words of Dane County Tavern League President Barb Mercer, reported by WKOW, ""The city government continues to slap us with one regulation after another and quite frankly why should we give back to a community that continues to kick us when we're down?"" The league also emphasized that the choice to withhold funding was as much a political message as a response to financial woes.
Yet Mercer would probably agree that the 1,000-plus children who participated in Saturday's annual Easter Party are not part of this hostile ""community"" that opposes smoking in bars. But for the first time in 19 years, the league did not contribute to the children's Easter show at the Barrymore Theater.
Aside from the irony of a Tavern League sponsoring child-oriented events, the consequence of the league's decision implicates the wrong audience. Mercer also noted the league will reduce donations for Special Olympics and Crime Stoppers.
This means even more community members who are unaffiliated with the ban will pay the price for the city government's lawmaking.
From a self-interested perspective, the league's decision makes even less sense. Each time the Tavern League sponsors a community event, it generates positive publicity for the organization. The league's choice to sever positive rapport with the community hardly creates opportunities for future cooperation.
Ultimately, the Tavern League's ""overturn or else"" message will not induce Madisonians to reverse or reconsider the smoking ban. More likely it will muddy the league's already questionable reputation and put its members on less favorable footing with common Madisonians.
