Which Council Members Support Citizen Input?

On October 28th, 2013 seven members of the city council will select an individual to replace Dawn Kuhn who has resigned effective October 14th, 2013.

Based on information contained on the city's web site, it did not appear that there was going to be time allocated for citizen input at that meeting.  On August 28th I inquired of Mayor Jeff Meyers if public input would be permitted.  The mayor responded that no public input would be permitted at that meeting.  Full texts of both emails can be seen by scrolling down here.

So, last weekend I emailed the seven council members with the following:

In reply to a question about the upcoming meeting of 10/28/13 to select a replacement for Councilmember Kuhn, Mayor Jeff Meyers has said there will be no public input permitted.

Do you agree or disagree with the Mayor regarding public input at that meeting?

Thank you,

Here are the replies (and also a list of those who did not reply)

Dan Pflumm, Ward I

I disagree with the Mayor I believe the City of Shawnee should encourage public input, especially after what has transpired in previous appointments.     

Mike Kemmling, Ward II

Disagree.  I will be sending him an email expressing my opinion.  Thanks for being pro-active in this.

Michelle Distler, Ward IV

We are not autonomous. Any decision that impacts the citizenry should involve them and allow for input.

The above three council members apparently believe that the citizens of Shawnee deserve a say at that meeting.

Mickey Sandifer, Ward IV

As the Mayor and I do not always agree on issues.  I have asked in the past if the Council had a say in how the City Council meeting was operating.  I was told that the Mayor makes the decisions on whether or not someone can address the Council. In this case I do not agree,  although I do respect the office of the Mayor I will not challenge the Mayors authority

Looks like Mickey's answer is a breakfast food, a waffle.  He was elected to represent the people, not the mayor.

The following three council members have NOT replied:  Jim Neighbor, Ward I, Neal Sawyer, Ward II and Jeff Vaught, Ward III.

I did not expect a reply from Neighbor.  He has shown a proclivity to avoid direct answers to direct questions in the past, and probably did not get permission from his puppetmaster.  It was a surprise that Sawyer did not respond.  I really thought he would.

Now we come to Vaught.  He has exhibited many totalitarian tendencies in the past, including being non-responsive to inquiries.  What is ironic about him, is that in the last campaign one of the labels that he gave himself was that of a patriot.  A patriot would support the people.  What has he ever done that was patriotic? (Another question that I'd like to see him answer, but he won't.)  I don't think he ever even served his country.  Anyway, IMHO, as a patriot, he is a fraud.

WARNING!!!!!! The City Manager of Shawnee has determined that local bloggers post items that may contain bad or misinformation. Please read these posts with care and determine for yourself whether the information is valid.
If you would like to comment about this post, or any other post on this blog, or about anything, please go to http://www.shawneeray.proboards.com