Annapolis City Council Rejects Buckley’s “Dream Act”

Rodriguez called bill “an insult.”

Annapolis (SPP) – The Annapolis City Council meeting got heated last Monday when Mayor Gavin Buckley introduced his own “Dream Act” to the Council. While bills nationally by this name have focused on granting amnesty to people who were illegally brought to the US as children, Buckley’s bill had nothing to do with immigration. It’s one sentence text simply stated in large text, “Annapolitans are free to dream!!!!!!!!!”

“When I came to Annapolis, I didn’t have a penny in my pocket, but I had dreams in my heart. All I had were dreams, mates. And that was all I needed. I just want to remind Annapolitans that they are free to dream too! I’ve think people have forgotten that. We should tell them that they are still free to dream. We should enshrine the right to dream in our code,” an excited Buckley told the Council.

Buckley, before the meeting, campaigned on Duke of Gloucester Street, outside City Hall, waving to passing traffic with his “Annapolitans are free to dream!” sign. He brought this enthusiasm into the City Council Chamber where he appeared to be almost jumping out of his seat as he explained his bill. However, members of the council were not as enthused.

Alderman Marc Rodriguez angrily said, “We have children in this city worried that Donald Trump is going to deport them and you come at us with a Dream Act that just says this? This is a mockery of everything that we are supposed to be for. This is an insult to all DACA kids.”

Alderman Ross Arnett questioned whether the legislation would add anything to the budget. “Suppose someone has trouble dreaming, does this bill require the City to pay for their sleep therapy? If we create a right to dream, then someone is going to come around and demand that we pay for it. And I just don’t think that is an expense we can afford, Mr. Mayor,” Arnett stated.

Former Alderman Kenny Kirby addressed the council when the bill was opened for public comment and raised his concern. Kirby asked, “I sometimes have nightmares of big spiders running after me. Are you saying, Mayor Buckley, that I have to have these dreams? What if I don’t want scary dreams?”

Buckley assured Kirby that he was not required to dream and the City Attorney told Arnett that nothing in the legislation would require the City to cover sleep therapy.

More sparks flew when Alderwoman Rhonda Pindell Charles accused the Mayor of being on illegal drugs when he came up with this bill and during the meeting. “You must be high or something. You were high when you wrote this bill. This is the stupidest thing I have ever seen!” Charles snapped.

Buckley denied being high on anything, except his dreams, and said that Charles lacked the imagination to see the brilliance of his bill. In response to that, Charles yelled, “Don’t you insult me, Gavin! This bill is complete garbage!”

At the end of debate, Buckley’s Dream Act failed 7 to 2 with only Gavin Buckley and Alderman Fred Paone voting for the legislation. Paone, who is a robot, indicated that he voted for the legislation because he is programed to vote against the majority 95% of the time because that is the percentage of the time that the council is wrong.