Recently I emailed Councilmember Burchfield concerning the city council meeting of 12/11/23. A copy of the email is listed below. In keeping with a desire to maintain transparency her reply email, unedited, is also listed below. Readers can judge for themselves what they think about each email. They might also want to listen to the audio of the 12/11/23 meeting.
My email:
Councilmember Burchfield,
At this past Monday’s council meeting after I made my
comments about the lack of transparency regarding the possible appointment of
two council members to a joint study group you commented to the effect that
even though you were one of the designated individuals you had no problem with
delaying action until Jan 8, 2024.
When it came time to vote on moving the item to January you
voted against it, as reported in the Shawnee Mission Post.
Would you mind clarifying the contradictory action on your
part?
So that there are no misunderstandings regarding
transparency, this email will be posted to my blog along with an unedited copy
of your response.
Thank you
Ray Erlichman
Her reply:Hello
Ray,
Thank
you for your email and the opportunity to clarify.
I
don’t believe my actions were contradictory. I spoke that I was open to a
discussion on the appointments at the January meeting so that the public had
enough time to be informed participants in the conversation. After further
comments from city staff, other council members, and the mayor I voted no on
the motion because I didn’t believe the Council Committee meeting was the
correct place for the discussion, I did not think the Mayor intended to make
appointments, and I didn’t believe the city staff were ready to move forward
with the workgroup.
Thank
you,
Laurel
