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A troubling pattern is emerging in Prince George’s County. In at least three instances, taxi drivers were prevented from collecting petition signatures at public events held throughout the county on Aug. 2, National Night Out.
At VFW Post 9619 in Morningside, four drivers attempted to collect signatures in the parking lot. “After we had about three people [sign], there was a guy who came out from the inside,” said Markos Gebrehiwot, as he stood in the VFW parking lot.
The “guy” told the drivers they couldn’t collect signatures since the VFW is a nonprofit organization, recalled Gebrehiwot. “We don’t know who this guy was. Probably [the] manager [or] the owner. We don’t know… But he told us we need to leave the property.”
The four drivers, all members of the Prince George’s County Taxi Workers Alliance, left and called the organization’s leadership for a new assignment. They were given Thurgood Marshall Middle School in Temple Hills, just a few miles away.
But the drivers weren’t even able to get out of their cars before they were turned away from a second public event. “There was a guy by the parking lot entrance. He told us this [event was] only for police and police families and he said we [were] not allowed to come in,” said Gebrehiwot.
If Prince George’s residents are to have the opportunity to vote on CB-3 – the recently passed, anti-taxi driver legislation – 3,300 valid petition signatures must be submitted to the Prince George’s County Board of Elections by Aug. 28.
In their effort to secure the needed signatures, the Taxi Workers Alliance focused their efforts on National Night Out, when thousands turn out for events held throughout the county. The driver-led organization sent teams to 13 separate locations, but were prevented from collecting signatures at five of them, according to Henock Wogderse, a lead organizer with the organization.
Earlier this week, TheFightBack reported on the Aug. 2 incident at Beckett Field in New Carrollton where a police officer threatened two drivers with a $400 fine if they continued collecting signatures at a public event, according to Oladele Omonijo and Lemma Desalegne.
Both New Carrollton Mayor Andrew Hanko and Chief of Police David Rice were at Beckett Field Aug. 2 and were aware that Omonijo and Desalegne were being prevented from exercising their right to collect petition signatures, but neither intervened to stop them from being run off, the drivers said.
Unfortunately, Mayor Hanko and Chief Rice have been unavailable for comment. But City Administrative Officer Mike Downes did respond. In an email to TheFightBack, Barnes said that while the signature gathering was “annoying people,” no one was asked to leave.
“I think it’s a travesty that citizens of this county have been thrown off public space just because they dared to practice their First Amendment right to free speech,” said Lloyd Scott, attorney for the Taxi Workers Alliance. “We’re determined to ensure that these people’s rights are not infringed upon further.”
* The name of the New Carrollton city administrator is Mike Downes, not Mike Barnes, as this post initially stated.
Related Stories:
- New Carrollton vs. the Constitution: Taxi Drivers Barred From Collecting Signatures at Public Event, Aug. 14, 2011
- Prince George’s County Taxi Workers Alliance Charts Course to Overturn Anti-Taxi Driver Legislation, July 20, 2011