Editorial: Belleville gets targeted by outside pot supporters

What was described as an “army” of out-of-state, professional, signature collectors targeted the City of Belleville for a petition drive that has resulted in the city deciding to put two proposals on the Nov. 3 general election ballot.
The petition asked for marijuana dispensaries in the city and a change in the city charter to allow this.
At Monday’s regular council meeting, held virtually by Zoom, Councilman Ken Voigt said the signature collectors had no understanding of this area. People from Van Buren Township and Sumpter Township signed the petition and presumably told signature collectors that they lived in “Belleville.”
But, out of the 75 pages of petitions there were enough valid signatures of Belleville residents to push the petition forward and force the council to either approve what they asked for or put it on the ballot.
Council members agreed to let the citizens decide if they wanted pot shops in town and to live with the decision.
We covered the council’s extensive discussion so residents would know just how these questions happened to be placed on the Nov. 3 ballot.
When the petitions were presented, people who had come from Arizona, Texas, and Florida – COVID-19 hot spots – came into city hall with their own notary. It scared city employees – in more ways than one.