Council Appointment Process Violates Open Meetings? (14. January 2010, 09:07 by Derek Young) ~ It's Never Simple
Just in case you haven’t heard, there’s quite a bit of discussion going on as to whether last week’s City Council executive session to discuss the qualifications of the appointment candidates violated open meeting laws. The News Tribune filed suit and …
A Pierce County judge agreed with The News Tribune on Wednesday that the Tacoma City Council appears to have violated the state’s Open Meetings Act with its actions during and after a closed-door meeting last week to approve finalists seeking appointment to two open council seats.
Superior Court Judge Bryan Chushcoff then granted a temporary restraining order that requires the city to “record any (future) executive sessions” related to the appointment process for the two vacant seats.
The next scheduled meeting was this morning. We’ll see where we go from here …
Link to The News Tribune
Previously on Exit133: Eight Names Move Forward in City Council Appointment Process
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An apology? Mayor Strickland? We deserve a public apology from you and the council. And btw, please change the city charter to reflect that the citizens voted for term limits. That’s eight years according to mathematics, not ten. So please change your books to reflect the vote!
1 | Posted by T-town | Jan 14, 09:38 AM
Thank you TNT!
I sent email messages to council Members Campbell, Fey and Woodards and Mayor Strickland expressing my disgust at their actions and urging them to do a “re-do”.
No reply from anyone, I guess they got the message.
2 | Posted by Elizabeth Burris | Jan 14, 10:02 AM
glad to see exit ’33 jumping on the bandwagon well in motion . Thanks!
3 | Posted by RR Anderson | Jan 14, 10:09 AM
OF COURSE this meeting was held behind closed doors! Duh! It should be!
If you are one of the losers in this battle for the two seats, would you want the city council saying what they don’t like about you and all your faults in an open forum and on TV Tacoma? Most of these candidates are community leaders in one sense or another and it would be a travesty to bash anyone of them in a public forum.
If the meetings were public, they may be looking at libel lawsuits anyways so they probably figured, to save the reputations of the losers (community leaders who we should be ENCOURAGING) in the race, they’d just close the doors to the meeting.
I just can’t see how the council could have won either way with this open door policy law in this circumstance.
5 | Posted by Jesse | Jan 14, 03:36 PM
When you need a city council to FastTrack your scheme, “Who ya gonna call?”
6 | Posted by Mofo from the Hood | Jan 14, 06:42 PM
Jesse, if you are satisfied with government decisions made behind closed doors that is your business. The ‘public selection of the 8’ was a charade and a waste of time for all involved and the public. Since we have an open government law, we demand the law be followed by the Mayor and the council. I don’t want Pierce county judges having to hold the hands of elected Tacoma officials because they either do not understand or willfully choose to screw the rules.
7 | Posted by T-town | Jan 14, 07:29 PM
If you are afraid of having any personal faults discussed in public, that should disqualify you for a city council seat right there. It’s not a job for the faint of heart. This ain’t no government civil service job. Air it out.
8 | Posted by Squid | Jan 14, 08:28 PM
Election campaigns are all about exposing candidates’ merits and faults. Indeed, that is why elections exist.
This isn’t really about the people who have voluntarily submitted themselves for scrutiny, it is about the sitting councilmembers being put in the position of having to evaluate the candidates in a public forum.
It is much easier to be criticized than to do the criticizing. The political downside is much higher for those having to make the decision.
9 | Posted by tom waits | Jan 15, 11:13 AM
I was hoping to get some good feedback on the quality of my application. My feelings would not have been hurt. On the contrary, it would give me direction on stuff I need to fix. Look at the art scene in Tacoma. Everyone is friendly and nobody is willing to criticize each other… this is the path to stagnation!
10 | Posted by RR Anderson | Jan 15, 12:30 PM
Not to put too fine a point on it, but when it comes to tracing the line of authority for decisions, the question remains: Who authorizes the decision process?
Which individuals guide, govern, and guard the process?
11 | Posted by Mofo from the Hood | Jan 15, 12:38 PM
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