“The one thing I have learned is city councils should stay out of charters,” says Councilor Bill Eddy, who signed on to the item. He’s got some background in the issue, having been involved in charter review issues back in 1983.
“Charters should be looked at by…a charter commission.”
“I’ll only support this if it goes through a public process.”
Meanwhile, Councilor Rushton says “Clearly this election cycle did bring some questions into the arena,” but agrees with Eddy that it needs to come from the people, not from one small segment, otherwise “it’s doomed.”
“Whether it’s a small change to the charter or a major change,” the conversation should be now, Rushton says.
And, from Councilor Clancy: “Why are we doing this now? What is so earth shattering…?”
(Palmieri compares charter review to pregnancy, and more fantastic quotes after the jump)
He says that while people keep asking about “process,” they keep talking about an actual review.
A full charter change “becomes a pandora’s box.” And at this time, he says, with the financial situation, there are more important things to do.
“[There is] no groundswell here.”
“I don’t think this is an appropriate time to review the charter…and if there are people who are curious or want change, they can petition this council and we would have to put it on the ballot.”
“This is one fishing expedition I don’t want to join at this time knowing we have a lot of items on our agenda.”
And Palmieri is vitriolic, saying people aren’t asking him, and we shouldn’t do it if people don’t ask. “Maybe they’re asking the man with the stick,” he says in an obscure reference to Rosen. “Maybe they’re asking Councilor Smith.”
A little charter review is like being “a little pregnant,” he says.
“LET THEM COME TO THE CHAMBER. LET THEM TELL US THIS IS WHAT WE NEED TO DO,” he roars. More important, Palmieri says, are taxes, the school committee’s request for $5 million, and public safety.
“Let’s demagogue this a little more. Maybe congress should look at changing the Constitution. A little bit. Amazing.”
“Municipal lawmakers will be municipal lawmakers. As long as they are on camera, they’ll get up and speak to anyone.”
“You have any questions Joff…why don’t you go ask councilor Clancy…he’ll give you his opinion that’s based in more fact…[it'll be faster] than talking to the media.”
There’s a real “if we ain’t hearing it’s broke, why fix it” attitude among dissenting councilors. They keep talking about not having a “groundswell,” and Mayor Lukes says that just because the same small group of talk show callers were saying something in the fall, “they don’t represent the people.”
She says it is inappropriate to move towards an entire review if it is only a few specific things that are troublesome.
Updated: 9:04
1 Comment
March 12, 2008 at 3:13 pm
“the man with the stick”??
Like his signs?