While walking thru the display put on by the company that was contracted to study the potential Shawnee comprehensive plan (at a cost of $250K), one item stood out to me.
This was the question "Of the following choices which do you believe are the top 3 critical issues facing Shawnee (choose 3)"
I was intrigued by the item that drew 19.85% (number 10 of 10). "Division amongst City Council members". This caught my eye because of a recent article in the Kansas City Star in which the two Shawnee Sob Sisters (former council member Stephanie Meyer and current council member Lindsey Constance) seemed to weigh in on that.
So, let's look at that. Maybe a little civics/history lesson might come in handy. First, if you have nine members of a city council and if there was never any division, then you have some serious problems. If any legislative body is always in agreement you might as well dissolve it, go to Office Max, buy a huge rubber stamp and let an overpaid neophyte city manager do whatever he wants.
Now, for many years one could say that the city council was divided ideologically 6 (liberal thinkers) to 2 (conservative thinkers). Bet ya didn't hear any crying from the likes of Meyer and Constance. Then what happened?
A coterie of "we know better than the people" tried jamming a community center down the throats of the citizens of Shawnee. The two sob sisters were part of that group. Especially Constance who wouldn't admit that the cost was really $54 million not $38 million. What happened? The people of Shawnee revolted, democratically, via their votes. A 46% turn out (a record for a mail in ballot) turned down this local version of the Taj Mahal 72% to 28%. That should have told these miscreants something. But it didn't. Get out the crying towels. They tried saying the "Vote No" group lied. Wrong. Who misrepresented the project? Who buried important info deep on a web site? The folks who wanted the project!!!!!
What happened next? Again, the people revolted and by their votes changed the make up of the council to 4-4 (split between liberal thinkers and conservative thinkers). Now the sob sisters and others of their ilk are blaming the "divided council" for Shawnee's ills. Wrong!!!!!!!
The sob sisters are refusing to accept the fact that the people of Shawnee are starting to get tired of the paternalistic approach of certain elected officials. It showed at the last council election. And more and more people will rise and be heard at the polls and not permit certain arrogant "we know better" types to remain in government.
