Angels Camp, CA….After being elected to the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors I assumed office in January of 1985. A recall effort was initiated against me in the summer of 1985. The recall effort was launched due to my opposition to the “War on Drugs”, most particularly Marijuana. The issues of the summer of 1985 are the same issues we are discussing today concerning the legalization of Cannabis and Measure B on the special election ballot. I urge the good citizens of Calaveras County to vote NO on Measure B. I would also encourage the Board of Supervisors to adopt a permanent ordinance for cannabis legalization which addresses and corrects the valid complaints concerning the emergency ordinance. There will be a five to six week printing of documents concerning the issues involved in the recall effort of 1985.

Sincerely,
Tom Tryon

Summer of 1985 a Notice of Intention to Circulate Recall Petition to the Honorable Tom Tryon:

Pursuant to Section 27020, California Election Code, the undersigned, registered qualified voters of the Fourth District, Calaveras County, State of California, hereby give notice that we are the proponents of a recall petition and that we intend to seek your recall and removal from the office of Supervisor in the Fourth District, Calaveras County, California and to demand election of a successor in the office.

The grounds for the proposed recall are as follows:

We, the residents of the Fourth District, Calaveras County, feel strongly that Supervisor Tryon’s public statements regarding the legalization of all victimless crimes, including drug laws, does not represent the majority viewpoint of his constituents.

The indisputable evidence contrary to Supervisor Tryon’s publicly stated beliefs indicate that he has no comprehension of the terrible human cost of drug abuse.

Supervisor Tryon’s strongly held beliefs that drug abuse is a victimless crime has no basis in fact. Considering that drug abuse leads to the destruction of moral values and family stability resulting in broken homes, and the destruction of many of our youth, we are asking the voters to reconsider Supervisor Tryon’s fitness to continue in office.

Answer to alleged grounds for proposed recall:

The indisputable evidence is not contrary but rather in support of my publicly stated beliefs. Namely, drugs should be legalized to the extent alcohol is legalized and controlled. Thus removing organized crime, pushers from campuses, high prices, corruption in government and exorbitant profits. I state these beliefs because I do have a comprehension of the terrible human cost of drug abuse, and I recognize that our current government policies have been pursued since the Harrison Narcotics Act of 1914, and the human tragedy only grows. Who today believes that the solution to the drug problem is to spend more money to build more jails to arrest more people? We all agree drugs are bad. The proper question is what policies should be implemented to minimize not only the use of drugs but also the harmful effects when drugs are used. One must be diligent in separating what effects are caused as a consequence of our current drug policies and what the policies were initiated to address. Today we keep escalating the war on drugs to fight the natural consequences of the war itself. The term war on drugs is a misnomer. It is not a war on drugs, but rather a war on people.

Tom Tryon

“They came first for the Cannabis user, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Cannabis user.
Then they came for the tax protesters, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a tax protester.
Then they came for the gun owners, and I didn’t speak up because I owned no guns.
Then they came for the home educators, and I didn’t speak up because I had no children.
Then they came for me, and by that time – no one was left to speak up.”