Garbage Issue dies with a whimper and a lack of political courage

Last night the people spoke, and they didn't like it.  They really didn't like it.

It started with a resident being cut off by Mike Trepanier when he was asking how much time our Citizen Long-range Improvement Committee had spent on studying crime verses the garbage issue.  It was a valid question that apparently will go without an answer.

Following the fairly balanced presentation by our city manager about the garbage issue, each council member was given the opportunity to speak their mind.  Then it began, council member after council member, in various levels of angst, frustration and a touch of contempt, scolded residents for showing their anger over this issue.

Granted, some went overboard with their frustration.  In this space we told people to be firm but respectful.  But the way some on our council reacted, the way they admonished residents for telling their taxpayer-compensated, elected officials how they felt, was in a word: petty.

The first to go was Rich Gates and he was ready to rumble.  From everything I'd heard, and from listening to him talk about this issue, it was pretty clear he would have been in favor of "organized" garbage hauling.  It was also clear he'd gotten a boat load of resident comments and they were not having anything to do with this thing.  They were against it and they were going to make sure he knew where he'd better come down.

He was angry.  He was angry that residents were angry.  The comment I wrote down in my notes last night was "tough!"  Residents were angry because this was an issue that never needed to happen and they were going to make sure their elected officials got that message.  Residents - Americans - have every right to speak their peace even when the council member on the receiving end doesn't like it.

Elizabeth Knight was next in line and she started down the same road.  Granted, not with the fire in her eyes that Gates had but in her own way she spent some time scolding residents as well.

Not surprisingly, Jeanette Meyer was for this thing.  She said it was a "good idea" and "personally I think it's great".  She said she was "disappointed" in the emails she got who felt they could comment to her "anonymously".

Mike Trepanier spent a great deal of time talking about how we had to "honor" the work of CLIC.  This work, a unanimous recommendation by this commission, was opposed overwhelmingly by the residents of our city.  In fact, it was almost unanimously opposed by residents (in the world of public opinion, 86% support or opposition is statistically unanimous).  I'm sorry, I'm sure they're fine people but they got it wrong.  They didn't talk to residents to get their feelings before trying to foist this thing on us.  While I appreciate their volunteerism, in this case they got it very, very wrong.

And this was followed by our new mayor who continued down this path, criticizing those who had called out specific members of CLIC for their recommendation (presumably this writer being included).

In the end they all stated they would have voted no, had their been a vote.  But both Trepanier and Lunde stated there shouldn't be a vote and there wasn't one.  It was an odd ending to several months of intense city lobbying for resident opinion.  To not have a vote was anti-climactic, ending this issue - for now - with a whimper.  Council member Crema wanted to "kill it tonight" but the issue was left hanging.  Without an on-the-record vote there is no conclusion to the issue and none of them can be held accountable for their actions.

While I'm happy the issue will go away - for a while - I was disappointed that our elected city council didn't much appreciate the input they themselves asked for on an issue they themselves created.  Had they shown some principled backbone in the beginning instead of feigning "I want to listen and decide" (and then not decide) I would have spent my birthday evening with my family instead of watching this disappointing lack of political courage.  Last night did not need to happen, and if it did it needed to have it's head cut off and killed dead once and for all.