Town Council update

I vowed to help the citizens keep up with our workings. I have recently reviewed my issues page on my original campaign website and will be posting a commentary of how I have kept up with my campaign issues. For now, I am reacquainting myself with my blog. I had planned to keep it up during my tenure, but after being elected mayor I made a decision to hold off. Obviously the council was elected during a time of turmoil and after a member being recalled and another resigning, we had two new members who had not run and with whom I was barely familiar. I was committed to providing leadership and trying to present a positive image of working together.

The Council was very anxious that my public statements all be approved by them as they felt I represented the entire council. This went so far as to requesting (insisting) that I not sit on the "upper" dias on the Planning Commission as they felt this gave me inordinate control of the process, so Annette and I moved to sit on the floor. Other public addresses I gave were extensively edited and modified by certain members. Again, I was anxious to maintain a harmonious working relationship and felt that these were minor issues compared to accomplishing the business of the town. Obviously, in the vein of "no good deed goes unpunished", I was not successful in that a major initiative of mine, obtaining more money for the high school was defeated and I was ultimately removed from office.

At this point, I no longer represent the council. I represent the town and my constituents, as I was elected to do. I'm not sure how much influence I might have on the Council (though I am pleased that on the issue of the fowl ordinance, three members (Dick, Lusk and Robertson) have moved from opposed to supportive - a minor victory at least), so I will return to my original goal of keeping the citizens informed as best I can. As with all blogs, I welcome your input and hope to create a public forum for discussion of the issues affecting our town.