Active student helped prompt Calabasas secondhand smoke ordinance
By Michael Picarella pic@theacorn.com

Margo Arnold

One person can make a difference and 19-year-old Margo Arnold of Calabasas is a good example.

Arnold went to the Calabasas City Council last year to express concern about the secondhand smoke in front of The Commons shopping center. The city took her comments to heart and adopted a citywide secondhand smoke ordinance that’s since gained nationwide attention.

“School had just gotten out and it was summer and I’d been going to The Commons to get lunch or I’d go in the morning and eat breakfast,” Arnold said. “It got really annoying that I’d sit down outside—because it was warm and beautiful out there—and there would be so much smoke around me. I get headaches when there’s too much smoking around me.”

Arnold said she had to eat indoors to avoid the smoke.

The teen has seen city government at work in the past. As a co-founder of the Teen Activities Council at Calabasas High School, Arnold went before the city council to discuss the details of her program. She’s spoken out on behalf of other high school programs as well.

“I just got comfortable talking to city officials and they gave me the confidence that my opinions mattered,” Arnold said.

Arnold’s experience with the city council gave her the idea and the assurance to bring her secondhand smoke concern to city leaders.

“So I went to a city council meeting and during public comment asked them if they would make The Commons a smoke-free area,” Arnold said.

The council unanimously adopted a secondhand smoke ordinance that will prohibit smoking in all public places—with very few exceptions. News of the ordinance appeared on television and on major websites such as the Drudge Report, tobacco.org and other national media outlets.

“This has inspired me to really speak out on things that I think need to be changed, or to try and influence others—teenagers especially— to speak out when they’re complaining about something,” Arnold said. “I always try to be very involved with my community.”

Mom Tracey Arnold said her daughter became a school activist at an early age. From middle school through high school, Arnold participated in the school yearbook, newspaper and more.

“When she did the newspaper at Calabasas High School she wanted to report on city issues, not just school issues,” the mother said. “She wanted to make the students more aware of the bigger issues.”

Arnold is a sophomore at Pierce College in Woodland Hills. She hopes to transfer to USC or UCLA and later work in public relations. She’s been a resident of Calabasas for 10 years.

As for those who would criticize Arnold for speaking out on the secondhand smoke issue, she said the opponents to the ordinance should have voiced their opinions while the matter was being discused at city hall.

“I was at three meetings and there was only one person who was upset about it,” Arnold said.

“Citizens should wait until the ordinance goes into effect on March 15 to see how it works before coming up with conclusions. Calabasas is not telling people they can’t smoke; they are just putting limits on smoking around others.”

Bottom line, Arnold says, if you want change, speak up.