Republican Liberty Caucus recognizes El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells

Guest Commentary
by Jason Jackson

As an East County resident and an active volunteer with the San Diego chapters of the Republican Liberty Caucus and Gun Owners of California, I watch the affairs of the El Cajon City Council pretty closely. I was glad to be watching in June as the Council considered a resolution to support SB 151, a bill that would raise the legal age to purchase cigarettes to 21. El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells stood alone in opposing the measure, making one of the most forceful arguments for limited government that you are likely to encounter in municipal government. Wells also shared his views on Rostra.

Mayor Wells accepting his award, with wife Bettie.

This past week the Republican Liberty Caucus awarded Mayor Wells our highest honor, the Thomas Paine Liberty Torchbearer award, in recognition of his principled stand.

During the public commentary period of the Council’s deliberations, fellow East County resident Eric Andersen commented that statesmen don’t cater to the popular whims of the times but rather “they look for a transcendent ethic, something absolute and unchanging when determining a just from an unjust ordinance.” Mayor Wells stood alone as a statesman that night, pointing to the principle that a limited government shouldn’t be used to protect people from themselves, and admonishing his colleagues that by losing sight of their principles they risked endorsing some of the same arguments that have been used in other municipalities to limit gun rights, or ban soft drinks.

In my own public comments during the debate I asked the council to consider that we are almost exactly a year removed from the tragic death of Eric Garner in New York City. Mr. Garner was an unarmed father of six, killed by New York law enforcement officers as they attempted to enforce New York’s prohibition on cigarette sales. New York’s prohibition was effectuated by taxation. The prohibition under consideration in California is age-based discrimination. Different tactics – but similar costs. When you criminalize something you have to be prepared to kill to enforce it. When you criminalize something you have to be prepared to take liberty to enforce it. When you criminalize something you have to be prepared to raise taxes to support its enforcement. I urged the council to consider those costs alongside whatever benefits they anticipated from the measure.

Ultimately the measure passed 3-1 over Mayor Wells principled objections, but I will long remember the Mayor’s articulate and principled defense of liberty and limited government, and was proud to lend my own voice in support. His lonely vote of opposition stood alone in reflecting a transcendent ethic and unchanging principles of limited government. A true statesman.

Mayor Wells joins other esteemed local office holders in receiving the Liberty Caucus Torchbearer recognition, including Senator Joel Anderson, Assemblyman Brian Jones, San Diego City Councilman Scott Sherman, Vista City Councilwoman Amanda Young Rigby, Helix Water Board Member Kathleen Hedberg, and former San Diego City Councilman Fred Schnaubelt.

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Jason Jackson is a political activist and serves as Vice Chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of San Diego. He is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and a veteran of the War on Terrorism, earning the Navy Commendation Medal and the Navy Achievement Medal for his service in the conflict. He has a master’s degree in Political Science from San Diego State University, and a law degree from Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, CA.