2 Youths to Seek Permission to Paint Murals

A toughened graffiti ordinance approved this week by the Fillmore City Council has inspired two teen-agers to seek permission to paint murals on frequently tagged walls.

Fillmore residents Vincent Parrish and Marcos Ruvalcaba, both 17, said they will speak to Fillmore’s Youth Task Force on Aug. 19 to build support for the plan before taking it to the City Council for approval.

“I want to stop the graffiti from getting bad like it is in other places,” Parrish said. He said he spent three years scrawling his tag on walls and signs in the San Fernando Valley before giving it up when his family moved to Fillmore in February.

“I just realized how stupid it was and I thought there must be some more positive ways to express yourself,” Parrish said, adding that “I didn’t want to get caught.”

The new Fillmore ordinance changes graffiti violations from infractions to misdemeanors, meaning that those caught defacing property could serve up to six months in jail and face up to $1,000 in fines.

In addition, merchants who sell spray paint, permanent ink markers or glass etching tools to minors will be subject to the same penalties.

Fillmore Mayor Mike McMahan said he would be open to the mural proposal, but was wary of entering into a debate over its content.

A mural painted on an outside wall of the Fillmore Senior Center last summer stirred controversy when city officials objected to gang-style lettering and an all-Latino theme proposed by the Fillmore youths painting it.

“Now there’s graffiti on the mural,” McMahan said. “I don’t know that it’s the most effective way to cut down on graffiti.”