San Tan Flat case goes national

The San Tan Flat case, in which the ruling politburo of Pinal County, Arizona, puts the screws to a popular bar and restaurant over dancing, draws national attention. Columnist George Will addresses the controversy in the pages of today's Washington Post.

The government of this fiefdom south of Phoenix claims that when it approved Dale Bell's blueprint for his Western-theme restaurant with an outdoor stage in an enclosed courtyard, it assumed the stage would be used for mimes or poetry readings. Mimes in Arizona scrubland? Poetry at the San Tan Flat Steakhouse and Saloon? The authorities were, they insist, shocked when country music broke out, and they are scandalized because some customers, not content to tap their feet to the Western beat while they eat, get up and dance.

Foot tapping is, so far, still legal in Pinal County. Outdoor dancing is not, at least at a dance hall, and Pinal says San Tan Flat morphs into one at certain points on certain evenings, when customers dance and Bell does not make them stop. He thinks the U.S. Constitution's protection of self-expression encompasses the right to (in the language of his brief to the county court) "sway, shuffle or even dance."

Pinal's harassment of Bell is a small provincial spat, but it illustrates two large themes of our national history. First, democracy requires judicial supervision to thwart the excesses of elected officials. Second, governments closest to the people are -- never mind what sentimentalists say -- often the worst. This is because elected tyrants can most easily become entrenched where rival factions are few.

Read the rest of Will's column here.

Check out some of my coverage of the case here.

And then share your sentiments about the issue with the obvious villains. Pinal County supervisors can be reached below:

Lionel D. Ruiz
Phone: 520-866-7830
Fax: 520-866-7838
email: Lionel.Ruiz@co.pinal.az.us

Sandie Smith
Phone: 520-866-6104
Fax: 520-866-6107
Sandie.Smith@co.pinal.az.us

David Snider
Phone: 520-866-7401
Fax: 520-836-3876
David.Snider@co.pinal.az.us