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Regular City Council Meeting Monday,August 27, 2012 Page 31 Councilmember Johnson advised that he originally had thought that this issue would be a two-part process, with the first step to receive the HRC recommen- dation and then determination of a City Council position; but stated that he would personally vote "no"in the voter's booth. As the next phase of his decision-making, Councilmember Johnson questioned if this was the pulpit or bench from which an issue like this should go forward, and whether in his role as a Councilmember, he should say aye or nay, or just stand by. Councilmember Johnson opined that it would be easy for him to simply stand by; and recognized that this was where he needed to thank the hundreds of people who had talked to him; and shared their passion and their pain, helping him to understand the community of Roseville better. While door- knocking during his campaign for City Council, Councilmember Johnson noted that the community was very diverse; and offered his desire to support all of those groups. Councilmember Johnson noted that, right now at this time and place, one of those diverse groups was before the City Council, and while he originally held a dissenting position, after hearing how Councilmember Pust had framed the issue, he had decided that he will vote along with the popular opin- ion heard tonight because he thought it was the right thing to do. Mayor Roe stated that he didn't struggle much about whether to support or op- pose the amendment, since from the beginning he personally felt it was appro- priate to oppose the amendment, opining that it was the right thing to do and urging friends and neighbors to also not support the amendment. Mayor Roe stated that the question he struggled with, as previously shared by with HRC Chair Grefenberg, and was also asked by many tonight: whether it was appropriate for the City Council to take action on the issue. Mayor Roe noted that his initial reaction was that it was not; comparing it to other City Council actions in the early 2000's when it became popular for them to take a position and pass a resolution in opposition to the War in Iraq. Mayor Roe clar- ified that, no matter his personal opinion, he felt such a position was outside his role as a Councilmember. Mayor Roe noted that this was his thought process and background coming into this issue. Noting this was a very important issue affecting the rights of people and a de- termination of whether the State Constitution encouraged or enhanced the rights of a minority group of people, Mayor Roe noted that this then took him to a dif- ferent level, and as a result, found himself supporting the resolution moved to- night. Mayor Roe stated that he maintained his skepticism as to whether the City Council should take a position on political issues, for those reasons previ- ously stated, Mayor Roe noted that a City Council can do so, with that authority supported by the State's Attorney General as well as other authorities in the state supporting that position. As leaders in the community, Mayor Roe opined