Sunday, September 16, 2007

Out of the Loop and Out in the Cold

They’ve been denied meeting space, they’ve been denied information and they’ve been denied staff time. Now they will be denied the right to convene committee meetings. Here is the response of one City Councilor to this latest blow to Council authority and autonomy (Originally e-mailed to the administration and Council, forwarded to us by a contributor):


This is absolutely astonishing. The administration has unilaterally decided to cancel meetings of the standing committees of the city council. It has also gone ahead and put out public notices that it has done so. All without consulting with council or with the committees who set their own agendas. We have seen several instances of the administration unilaterally including things on or pulling things from committee meetings agendas over the last four years. In each instance that I was aware of they were reminded that they do not have the authority to do so without the consent of the committee members. This one steals the prize for audacious and improper conduct. Whether you look for separation of powers or checks and balances or you believe in simple courtesy and cooperative processes this is outrageous. Have a nice weekend”.

Nezam (Tooloee)

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Perhaps it is time to change our form of government.

Anonymous said...

Thunderbird -- perhaps we give your current form of government important oxygen in the form of adult behavior on the part of the players. COBI Council has not exactly been model legislators by any stretch.

There is a push for this "new form" and Tooloee leads the cabal. Check out the same spin on Ms. Paulson's site and Tooloee's cold-call motion last meeting to just change the government.

Anonymous said...

No love lost here for Tooloee, but he hits the mark with these comments.

You're right, anonymous, our legislators are less than ideal, but they are also acting at a constant disadvantage to the mayor and staff.

Maybe with different personalities and agendas the Mayor/Council model would work, but it sure isn't working here. We have centralized power with little transparency. It's time for a big change.

Anonymous said...

Owl -- yes personality may be the issue with COBI Council. We have an opportunity for change with two contested races. I want to come back to the issue of transparency of candidates. Yes, this was covered ad nauseum on a previous post but with the indulgence of PS guys/gals, I want to make a point.

Our main paper has their voter guide up and of the two contested races, three candidates have their info posted. There is no info posted for candidate Brackett. This is what the questions are and her lack of answers (www.kitsapsun.com) "Kim Brackett
10890 NE Skinner Rd
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110

(206) 842-2134
kimbrackett@msn.comBasic Candidate Info:Age: 0

Educational background:

Current occupation/work history:

Volunteer/Civic involvement:

Family info (spouse, children):

How long you lived in the community:

Have you ever been convicted of a felony:



To See This Candidates Views On The Issues Click Here"

How do we try to consider changing government when we aren't being given a full picture of one candidate's CV (and she drew 49% in the primary).

Yes, Tooloee may have a point but why can't we expect full disclosure from a candidate before we add an unknown to a COBI Council mix that is already sour.

MichaelK said...

The big change--I yearn for days of government from Pt. Orchard. It's a little like yearning for Nixon with the administration in Washington, D.C.

Anonymous said...

We should have a city-manager form of government. Bainbridge politics are an embarrassing, dysfunctional mess with no real end in sight. The mayor/council mode is understandably rare. Why are we sticking with this unworkable model? Let's just go for it - there is nothing to lose. What do we need to do to make city-manger government a reality?

McCoy said...

OK, Anonymous at 6:15 pm, we have "indulged you". But really, aren't you hurting your cause by continuing with this apparent non-issue? We don't have any inside scoop on the missing info (anyone out there from her campaign or the Sun?) but the fact that about half of the candidates listed in the voters guide (Poulsbo, Bremerton etc.) have blank bio sheets, kinda takes the wind out of the conspiracy theory. If we hear an explanation, we'll be sure to post it.

Anonymous said...

From the Committee to Elect Kim Brackett.
We are grateful for this reminder about the Kitsap Sun’s election page being back up as Kim, who deeply values openness and transparency in government is eager to respond and has recontacted the Sun to make that happen. Until the Sun can get her material up, which we expect to be soon, remember that Kim’s Web site, which has been up since before the Primary, provides much information about Kim. “Visitors” are invited to read about her at www.kimbrackett.com and to send Kim their own questions/ideas concerning Bainbridge government/issues.