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Council Members with Deaf Ears Part of the Sept. 17 city council meeting telecast regarding cellular towers was like a cross between “Comedy Central” and “Ripley's Believe It Or Not.” One councilman's zealotry in favor of the ATS cellular tower master plan and the way he flew in the face of the mayor and others who questioned any aspect of the plan was amazing. His fervent push for approval of this master plan and blatant disregard for the overwhelming objections by the citizens against this plan are nearly beyond belief. Such vigor as a proponent of ATS and their plan makes it not difficult to believe that he could be on the ATS payroll. That he was not the only council member to have a deaf ear and closed mind to wishes of constituents is sad and regrettable. In recent years I have become only an infrequent, passive and casual observer of certain council members' occasional questionable performance and shenanigans. But watching certain council members' myopic fervor for this ATS “study” (as a particular council member tries to mislabel it), coupled with other multiple misguided and unpopular pet projects – e.g., bed tax, joint-use (“special interest”) gymnasium, support of SCE overhead high-tension power lines (or failure to support the burying of those lines) and Steadfast's low-income housing – tends to motivate me to get active again if only to ensure that they are defeated in the next election. This council meeting left me disgusted and wondering how delightful it must be to live in a town where the city fathers actually seek input from the citizens, or even just listen and respond to their wishes. Too bad that in our town the prevailing pattern of certain council members seems to typically favor corporate interests (who make significant campaign contributions) contrary to the expressed interests of our citizens, pushing pet projects, or otherwise generally dismissing out of hand their constituents' wishes because “they as elected council members somehow know better than we what is good for us.” Can this city endure another term of council members like he who sits at the right hand of the mayor and his like-minded colleagues? Once again, it is time for "out with the old, in with the new." Don Wilder |
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