Why A Special Meeting?

Why is there a special meeting on Monday?

The short answer is that it represents the ongoing battle of wills between the administration and the governing body. On May 7, Corporation Counsel Dan Williamson asked to add four items to the agenda, in contravention of established deadlines for submitting routine items. Williamson often adds items related to litigation discussed in executive session, but apparently these matters, having to do with insurance, did not fall into that category.

"I have no interest in putting these items on the agenda," Council President Adrian Mapp told Williamson on May 7.

Councilwoman Vera Greaves suggested letting Williamson add the items "for the last time," but a majority of the council members disagreed.

I was away for the May 14 meeting, but was told Williamson sought to add the four items that night and was turned down.

Now the mayor is using her power under the city's charter to call a special meeting Monday to vote on just those four items. Click here to see the ad posted on the city's web site. As noted by Dr. Yood on his blog Doc's Potpourri, the wording in the charter appears to be ambiguous, as it says the mayor can call a special meeting "and shall be called by the City Clerk upon written request signed by a majority of the councilmen." So is that an either-or situation or must both things happen for a special meeting to take place?

I guess we will find out Monday if enough council members show up to make a quorum. That is the first hurdle: A vote must then still be taken.

If all this makes the reader yawn, it is understandable. After all, these stand-offs and power plays go back to the earliest days of the administration. In 2006, the late Ray Blanco was council president and he became livid with rage over repeated attempts by the mayor to add things at the last moment, even presenting "walk-on" items in the middle of a regular meeting. Blanco passed away that summer of a massive heart attack and his adamant insistence on following the rules of order died with him.

Since then, the council has fluctuated between leniency and strictness. When Councilwoman Annie McWilliams was council president for two years, she brooked no nonsense in obeying the rules of order and Mapp, the mayor's rival when she sought and won a second term, has taken an equally hard line for rectitude. The mayor has often flipped him off by labeling his stance as sour grapes with such remarks as "the election is over," but Mapp has stood his ground.

So whether one thinks it is a simple clash of wills or whether it is a matter of right versus wrong conduct of government, the beat goes on. Look for more of the same, as collegiality between the administrative and legislative branches has become as scarce as the proverbial hen's teeth. Too bad it is all being amplified by broadcasting on television, for all to see the enmity and dissension that is the city's unfortunate current hallmark.

--Bernice