Time To Look Forward

Like many of you, I’ve been somewhat dismayed and at times disappointed with our newly seated council in their inability to come to a reasoned resolution to the challenge of seating a seventh member to their board due to a vacancy caused by a former member’s resignation. 

There is considerable speculation as to what lies at the root cause of this impasse, which has shed a dark shadow across the workings of a council many had held high hopes for and brought embarrassment to our community.  

The U.S. Constitution is still today one of the most revered and respected documents ever created by man. Great thought and effort went into its creation, and as such,we have taken historic efforts to preserve that original document for all eternity. 

The Constitution’s power comes from its ability to establish a government that serves its citizens, protects their rights, and allows for change over time. It is a magical document that was created by mere men who would strive to create a government whose purpose was to serve the people and not the inverse. They were tired of the heavy-handed rule of a monarchy whose sole purpose was to serve the king. A novel idea given the times they lived in. 

I don’t want anyone to think I’m throwing stones at any person presently sitting on council; we have seen enough division and anger tossed around lately in our community and on the national scene. We must all grow up and act as adults and realize that together we can come to decisions that benefit us all.  

Two election cycles ago, I posed the question regarding whether the time had come for a Citizens Charter Review Committee as part of the paper’s video interviews with potential candidates. All those then supported just such a committee, realizing that our Charter had not been reviewed in several years. 

You see,the City Charger, like the U.S. Constitution, is a “living and breathing document” that gives both great resilience, allowing for adjustments and providing a process for that. Since the Constitution’s creation, we have authored and adopted 27 such Amendments; the first 10 are found in the Bill of Rights. The process is not easy, and the Founding Fathers guarded against that to deter such frivolous changes. Congress itself has proposed 11,000 such changes, with only 27 adopted.  

Two months ago, I wrote regarding the possibility of a “special election,” due to the impasse that council was facing. I had hoped that the City Attorney would review the issue and look favorably upon it. That has not come to fruition, and we continue to stumble along. Councilor Brechnitz continues to serve in the chair’s seat. He has handled the gavel in a fair and balanced manner, as he always has, and deserves our thanks for carrying out those duties. 

Let us hope we can move forward from under this cloud and put the residents first and this unfortunate issue in the rearview mirror and look to creating a Charter Review Committee to avoid some of these pitfalls in the past.