TRAVERSE CITY -- Michael Estes has a clear vision, but he'll need a lot of help to make it happen.
The Traverse City mayor hopes city commissioners will authorize him Monday to write letters to every state senator and representative. The ultimate goal: a complete ban on smoking in city bars and restaurants.
Some business owners might grumble about such a ban, he said, but he's convinced the good outweighs the bad.
"If you're doing it citywide, I think you're setting a standard for not only residents in our community, but also the visitors," Estes said. "We could make it known in promotional materials that Traverse City is a smoke-free city. I think the implications are very positive for the business community."
Estes is hopeful his efforts will convince legislators to allow Traverse City and other local governments to make their own decisions regarding bar and restaurant smoking.
"We're simply suggesting ... they allow every city, township and county to deal with the issue on their own," he said. "We need the state legislature to pass that tiny, one-paragraph amendment," he said.
The city has discussed smoking bans, and former Mayor Linda Smyka in 2007 also sent a letter to legislators asking for local control on smoking. Estes isn't sure how the commission will react to his desire to again tackle the issue.
"You never know what the commission is going to do," he said. "I try not to make any predictions."
Restaurant and bar owners are responding to customers' desires for smoke-free environments, Michigan Restaurant Association spokesman Andy Deloney said. The decision to ban smoking should be left in the hands of business owners, Deloney said, not city commissioners.
"In 10 years the number of smoke-free restaurants has risen 155 percent, that is without (government) stepping in and telling restaurant and tavern owners what's best for them," he said. "They are in the best position to know what their guests want."
Deloney said customers dictate their preference to business owners. If enough suggest a smoke-free environment, the restaurant owner may create one. If he or she doesn't, they risk losing customers and going out of business.
"(Customers) will choose the restaurants that meet their demands," he said. "They will avoid the ones that don't."
The commission meets at 7 p.m. Monday in the Government Center on Boardman Avenue.
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