by Travis Mateer
Today we’re going to look at the claim that the cool kid clique on City Council isn’t interested in hearing reports from what they consider the MINORITY. That’s why an effort is being made, says the minority, to “streamline” the process for getting items on the agenda. From the link (emphasis mine):
An effort to streamline the legislative process by requiring that a referral have greater support before it’s scheduled for a hearing failed to pass a Missoula City Council committee on Wednesday.
Council member Mike Nugent’s measure sought to “better clarify the referral” process and streamline “the flow of businesses from committees to full council.”
What’s the problem with how things work now? The problem is that some City Councilors, like Daniel Carlino, get to DISCUSS something if it gets on the agenda, and that discussing-of-something, when done by someone in the minority, is distasteful to the clique. It can lead to things the clique doesn’t want to do, like staying up past their bedtime in order to listen to passionate public comments.
You might think the people who love DEMOCRACY and INCLUSION so much would be inclined to allow minority discussions, but you would be WRONG. Winning an election in Missoula is apparently NOT ENOUGH to get your voice heard. If the MAJORITY have their way, minority Council members will have to run little mini-campaigns for the benefit of the clique in order to get agenda items a proper hearing.
Here’s more on the effort to “streamline” the referral process, including Mike Nugent’s rationale for why he’s doing the heavy lifting for the clique (emphasis mine):
Among other things, if a committee chair opted not to schedule a referral for a hearing, Nugent’s measure would allow for a poll of all council members to gauge whether there’s sufficient interest to schedule the measure anyway.
A referral could also automatically make the hearing schedule if it has at least four sponsors. Nugent said the new rules would help keep the city focused on important issues and not waste time on matters that have little interest, or simply propel one person’s personal agenda.
“There are people who hijack the processes for their own personal benefit and find ways to bring things up that should never get the light of day,” he said. “When we put something on the agenda, it gets oxygen, it gets attention, and I don’t think that’s always a good thing. I think it’s reasonable for us to have a scheduling process that addresses that.”
Sure, Mike, denying oxygen to something you’d like to eliminate is a totally reasonable thing to do and it looks NOTHING like this.
The article from the propaganda arm of City Council (aka, the Missoula Current) does leave a little room at the end for the minority to complain about how the cool kids don’t return phone calls. Maybe this complainer should SHOW UP IN PERSON to more effectively compel the clique to listen (emphasis mine):
Jordan and fellow council member Daniel Carlino represent a small minority on City Council as self-professed democratic socialists. Jordan said it’s “almost impossible” for her to get something heard in committee.
“When I make phone calls to people, they don’t respond. It’s almost impossible for me to do work behind the scenes because people don’t return my phone call,” said Jordan. “I feel there’s definitely a clique on City Council and when you’re in, you’re in, and when you’re not, you’re not, and right now I’m not in.”
I think it’s kinda adorable that Kristen Jordan keeps complaining to the propaganda arm of City Council, especially after the tantrum she threw last month, which I wrote about here.
If you read that post you’ll see that I reached out to Kristen Jordan regarding her claim that people making public comments were experiencing retaliation, but Jordan never responded to my email. If Kristen Jordan is unwilling to back up the claims she’s making to a REAL truth teller, like myself, who is experiencing more serious retaliation than she can possibly imagine, then I’m going to just ignore her pathetic complaints. Political impotence, in this case, appears to be a choice. Maybe this member of the minority doesn’t understand what it means to be fighting a culture war.
For a much less pathetic assessment of this failed move by Mike Nugent to help insulate his clique from dissenting opinions, here’s the longest serving conservative member of Council, Sandra Vasecka, expressing her opinion on what this move would do, if passed:
“I see this as a way to hide behind a computer screen and not have a discussion on uncomfortable topics where constituents can hear what the people they elected have to say about such topics,” said Vasecka.
While Sandra has NEVER been a part of the clique, she’s maintained a dissenting voice without making Council seem like a sequel to the movie MEAN GIRLS, and for that she should be commended.
If you appreciate my ability to create MINORITY REPORTS about the local drama of City Council, please consider donating to Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF). I’m dealing with much more serious methods of political retaliation than unreturned phone calls for the light I’ve shined, and will CONTINUE to shine, on local abuses of power,
Thanks for reading!
