Dry Vote

Vote goes awry, town goes dry

DAN WIESSNER
Albany bureau


(May 16, 2007) — ALBANY — People in Potter thought it was a straightforward ballot question: Should we allow restaurants to sell beer?

Then the state got involved. By the time it was over, residents had accidentally banned beer sales anywhere in town. Now they're asking the Legislature's help in reversing an inadvertent prohibition that threatens to close the only grocery store.

Those involved blame the prohibition on the state's arcane alcohol laws.

The Yates County town of 1,800 is south of Canandaigua on the Yates-Ontario County border. In 2005, residents requested a vote to allow the Hitching Rail, the only restaurant in town, to sell beer. But the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Law, essentially unchanged since Prohibition, mandates that a list of five specific questions be put on the ballot — questions that even the state Liquor Authority admits are outdated.

Voters became confused by the questions, according to Potter Supervisor Len Lisenbee, and voted down all the proposals. The beer ban is set to take effect on July 1.

The ban would put the town's only grocery store — Federal Hollow Staples Grocery — out of business, said manager Kati Brown. Potter residents would have to trek 10 miles or so to Canandaigua or Penn Yan for food and beer.

Last week, the state Senate passed a measure that would allow Potter's residents to vote Nov. 15 on repealing the beer ban.

"They've been selling beer in this joint since 1970," said Sen. George Winner, R-Elmira, one of the sponsors of the bill.

The Potter bill still has to pass the Assembly by June 21, the last day of the 2007 session, and then be approved by Gov. Eliot Spitzer.