On October 6, the City Council will discuss yet again what has been the most contested hotbed of an issue it’s faced yet this year.
I’ve witnessed it all, impassioned discussions, tales of fights, denials, cronyism, political power plays _ the good ol’ boy system at its finest.
What issue is it that has brought about such strife? Has to be city design standards; maybe wreckers, or a sign ordinance. Could be a knock-down, drag-out budget discussion.
Nope all of this is over political tents.
You see, that pretty patch of manicured grass in front of City Hall and the Community Center is essentially green space. However, for a single day every two years you would think there was oil or maybe even gold under that grass.
A land grab reminiscent of the California gold rush begins as political animals snatch up and lay claim to the most sacred spots of ground for a political tent. MIT scientists and “mathlete decathalon” champions are called in to whip out protractors and scientific calculators to calculate which space will allow a brightly-smiling, waving candidate to be seen the longest.
Since everyone knows brightly-smiling, waving candidates essentially guarantees political victory, this single item is crucial.
Now, in years past the political land grab was held like a Black Friday sale at Wal-Mart. The doors opened 24 hours before the election and at that time a mad dash would begin to “claim” a spot. However, just like the sanctity of remaining closed on Thanksgiving, rules were made to be broken. In the past few years candidates have begun their land grab prior to the 24-hour rule in the ordinance and not by a few minutes or even an hour, but a whole day or two.
I’m told this has resulted, like many Black Friday videos on You-Tube, in verbal disputes or candidates nearly coming to blows.
Yes, these fine elected officials who expect you to follow every ordinance and resolution they hand down can’t even follow their own rules.
So to finally put an end to this unfair, unprofessional, unsportsmanlike conduct a resolution was proposed. A lottery. The ground would be sectioned off, names drawn and spots picked in order of names drawn. Fair, simple, no more land grabbing … an almost too easy answer.
Except Councilmen Denny Manning and Jacky Cagle aren’t interested in what’s fair.
Coucilman Manning, who tells me he always gets a permit to put his tent up, says he’s not aware of the near-fight Mayor Brent Lambert claim’s he witnessed during “tent time” in front of City Hall in 2014.
Councilman Cagle says he doesn’t see the need for a lottery because someone called him and he came up and got the spot he wanted anyway in 2014. He also has great concern for out of town dignitaries that are on the ballot but won’t be present to come to the lottery.
The problem is Councilman Cagle, what if you didn’t get that call and came up to City Hall and willfully violated the ordinance? What if no one called you? The fact is you would have shown up 24 hours before the election and ended up 50 yards away from where your tent was on that day.
The fact is allowing a land-grabbing battle royal on city property is a bad way of doing business.
Out of town dignitaries aren’t going to show up 24 hours before the election to put up a tent, so just like years past they will lay claim if they even show up to whatever spot is left.
Then at last night’s meeting, the Mayor who has been the strongest voice advocating for this lottery was absent. On the agenda was discussion of the lottery rules. What proceeded to take place was a political power play that displayed cronyism at its best. Secret whisper discussions were held prior to the meeting. When this item to discuss lottery rules presented itself, Councilmen Cagle made a motion to strip mention of the lottery out of the political sign ordinance (which just passed last meeting) altogether. Councilman Manning quickly seconded the motion and after some discussion it failed to pass due to a 2-2 deadlock.
The truth is Councilman Cagle is fighting against this because he feels that his buddy stands a better chance of land grabbing the highly-coveted, MIT-sanctioned, election-guaranteeing spot, than he does winning said spot in a seven-person lottery. This shining display of Cronyism, Good ol’ Boy backroom-dealing should turn the stomach of every East Ridge.
How do I know the truth behind Councilman Cagle’s motives? Well the candidate he’s rooting for told me so just after the meeting. To this candidate’s credit he states firmly he wants no part of what’s going on and doesn’t mind the idea of a lottery. He says he knows they were doing this because they think they are helping him, but he’s running a fair and honest campaign and is not in favor of what they are attempting to do.
Councilman Cagle, let’s get on with conducting the city’s business and leave Cronyism where it belongs – firmly dead in the last century.
In 2016 it’s time to govern with accountability and transparency. The work of the council needs to be synonymous with what’s in the best interests of the taxpayers and citizens, not what’s in the best interests of your buddy.
I decided to run for City Council to end shameless displays like the one I witnessed last night. If you agree and think it’s time for a different type of leadership – one that has the best interests of taxpayers and not their buddies in mind – then please cast your vote on Election Day for me, Matthew DeGlopper.
