Let's talk about how a COW (council member from other ward) made a big mistake.
By now most folks are familiar with the fact that the proposed apartment building for the old Wonderscope property was turned down.
Here is what I was told. The neighbors that banded together naturally expressed their opinions with their council reps (Ward 2). And that is the way it should be. On the other hand, remember that when the council votes, regardless of which ward the council member was elected from, that council member is voting for the whole city. Yes, including the area where the building was proposed to go.
Apparently, the folks that were against the project asked for a meeting with Matt Zimmerman, from Ward 1. The neighborhood folks wanted to at least present their opinions to him, knowing that when he would vote it would affect them. Supposedly he told them to "contact your council rep" and refused a meeting. Dumb, stupid and arrogant, IMHO. Regardless of which ward the project is in, council reps need to at least hear what the citizens in that ward have to say. Why? Because how they vote on the council will affect those folks. Now, they may not agree with those citizens but they sure as heck ought to at least listen to them.
Those citizens who he ignored can't vote for or against him in the next election (should he choose to run again). But, they sure could do certain things that are legal to help an opponent of his.
