Open Letter to City Council: One-Way Respect, Incompetence, Illegality, and Broken Promises

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Mr. Mayor and Honorable Members of Council:

In a constitutional republic, the principal duty of an elected representative of the people is to understand the needs and desires of those they serve. Honest, direct, and frequent communication with one’s constituents is the preferred means of staying apprised of their views. Those sorts of interactions enable elected officials to benefit from the collective experience and wisdom of the members of their community. Your recent action demonstrates your underdeveloped appreciation of those republican ideals. Continue reading →

Open Letter to City Council: How Do You Solve a Problem like the Monument?

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Mr. Mayor and Honorable Members of Council:

I write to oppose your approach to settling the fate of the Portsmouth Confederate Monument. Although I support its eventual relocation to a cemetery that already houses the remains of Confederate soldiers, I have three objections to the manner in which you are currently proceeding. The first is that taking up this matter in a virtual meeting of city council does not comply with Attorney General Herring’s guidance in the Sullivan Opinion regarding the legal limitations to which such meetings are subject. As I have pointed out on prior occasions regarding other items of council business, this matter does not qualify as “keeping the lights on in city hall” during the pandemic. Unlike the items to which I previously objected for the same reason, 20-188 likely will elicit a strong reaction from members of the public unhappy with whatever you may decide, resulting in legal action to overturn the decision. I ask you not to invite yet another court battle for the city.
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Open Letter to City Council: A Monumental Question

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Mr. Mayor and Honorable Members of City Council:

I am writing to oppose adoption of an ordinance authorizing the transfer of $250,000 from a contingency line item in the FY 2020 Adopted Budget to the Department of Engineering to fund removal of the monument located in Town Square. My reasons are as follows: Continue reading →

Open Letter to City Council: Yesterday and Today

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Mr. Mayor and Honorable Members of Council:

I see that you have scheduled another special meeting for this evening to discuss the current state of unrest in the city. In contrast to yesterday, I hope that you all will conduct yourselves professionally and in accordance with Robert’s Rules of Order and council’s own rules of order and procedure. For example, the mayor should have ruled CM Moody out of order when he was strutting and fretting for his moment on the stage by calling out his colleagues rather than focusing on resolving very thorny issues. In the same vein, any member of council could have raised a point of order about the gratuitous nature of CM Moody’s remarks, just as you have done to citizens on numerous occasions. You all need to model in your interactions the deportment that you want citizens to follow. Continue reading →