The day after the death of political columnist and outspoken Bush critic Molly Ivins, Oberlin resident June Goodwin woke up and realized that it was up to her to speak out now. Goodwin’s issue of choice: the George W. Bush administration.

Goodwin’s campaign began with a letter to the editor and culminated at Monday night’s City Council meeting, where Oberlin became the first city in Ohio to pass a measure calling for the impeachment of Bush and Cheney. Fifty-six other cities and the Vermont legislature have passed similar measures.

Goodwin’s petition calls for the House of Representatives to launch an investigation into the Bush administration’s actions. It was signed by 648 Oberlin residents and sponsored by Community Peace Builders and Oberlin’s Chapter of Veterans for Peace.

The Council was unanimous (7-0) in support of Goodwin’s initiative.

“Oberlin is a friendly place for this sort of measure,” said Goodwin.

The petition premised its appeal on the Bush administration’s policies related to habeas corpus, treatment of prisoners, surveillance of American citizens and assertions to the public about the threat posed by Iraq. Council member Eve Sandberg noted that this succinct list of five items distinguishes Oberlin’s proposal from those passed in other cities.

“One of the things that we did in Oberlin was we narrowed the particular concerns…from the laundry lists that you’ll find on some other cities’ [proposals] to ones that we really think do warrant investigation,” she said.

Despite City Council President Daniel Gardner repeatedly entreating any opponents of the petition to speak up, not one person or group stood up in opposition at the meeting.

“That nobody at all spoke against this measure at the Council meeting, and that it passed unanimously, speaks volumes about Oberlin,” said Jonathan Bruno, College senior and former President of the College Republicans. “It means that nobody will take this town or its City Council very seriously.

“It sends a message to most onlookers that Oberlin is full of well-intentioned but ultimately mistaken citizens, who consider the exercise of executive power by a Republican in time of war an impeachable offense,” he continued.

Others questioned whether the measure amounted to anything other than symbolic politics.

Dan Roanayne, Spokesperson for the Republican National Committee, told the Associated Press that it amounted to “absurd political theater.”

Proponents of the measure disagreed. “We understand — I think we all do — that impeachment is a long shot,” said Michael Kay, a World War II veteran who heads up Oberlin’s chapter of Veterans for Peace and is an active participant in Community Peace Builders.

“We think it is worth [it]…because we feel that what this administration has done has been so destructive and so dangerous…that we feel it is our obligation and responsibility to seek out the impeachment of Bush and Cheney,” Kay continued.

Others believed the value of the measure was in showing individuals that they could make a difference.

“It is showing people to put things in their own hands, and that is encouraging,” said Colin Jones, College junior and student representative of Community Peacebuilders.

Cecilia Galarraga, a College junior who gathered signatures for the measure on campus, agreed.

“We can all be defeatist and sit around and say that we won’t necessarily have any impact, but at least we’ll have done something and spoken out,” said Galarraga. “It’s important to show the world community that the American people do not in whole support this administration and what it is doing.”

Sandberg also emphasized the importance of this measure’s passage in Ohio, according to the Associated Press.

“Ohio is a battleground for elections, and this is really sending a strong message,” Sandberg said.

It is unclear at this point whether Oberlin City Council’s actions will inspire other Ohio cities to pass similar legislation.