I oftentimes get so frustrated with the cornmash that passes for public discussion Downtown, I’ll admit – I’ve avoided meetings because I just can’t stomach any more.
You have to listen to people like Valerie Reddeman, owner of the flopped business Green Feet, lecturing about how everybody else should behave. You have to listen to the “Emily Latellas” – people who obviously haven’t read the agendas or reports and don’t really understand the subject at hand but insist on blathering on for their three minutes of absolute attention – thank you singing bag lady! Last night we got our own local version of The Voice!
If you’re lucky, you will be there when somebody gets up there and tells it like it is. Last night that was Sue Hubbard. Sue stood up against the bag ban, telling council and the assembled bag-ban groupies how sick she is of watching her town run into the dirt by a bunch of self-aggrandizing egomaniacs.
Sue goes to the meetings regularly, so she knows what she’s saying. These meetings are frustrating. Certain council members don’t listen to the public, and make no bones about that. Andy Holcombe has actually admitted that he makes his mind up previous to a meeting and nothing the public has to say is going to affect him. Last night he tried to derail a conversation I had requested be agendized, regarding the placement of tax increase measures on the ballot, by pretending not to understand what I was asking for.
Thanks to Sue, who stood up during “Business from the Floor” and asked them to honor my request. And I stood up. And then the crickets chirped. I thought we were dead.
But then Mark Sorensen came roaring in, reminding everybody, there’s THREE possible taxes coming round (like some rough beast) on the June ballot – including that phone tax I was talking about – and Sorensen suggested there should be some kind of public discussion regarding the nuts and bolts of deadlines, etc.
And, along came little Ann – butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth! – to agree with Sorensen!
So, while they aren’t agendizing any big to-doo about it, the city attorney is going to write up a little “informational” ditty to be included on an upcoming agenda explaining the process we are about to watch unfold. I’ll get that as soon as I can.
I’d like to dedicate this blog to Sue. Here’s one of my favorite songs by Johnny Cash:
This is from San Quentin, and the song is so new you can see him reading his notes as he sings.
“I tell you I’ve fought tougher men, but I really can’t remember when…” Go Sue!
Chico Taxpayers Association 