When I was in the army and we were presented with a task that was downright dumb we referred to it as a "Mickey Mouse" detail. Hence the title of this post Proceed and you will read an email I sent to Mayor Mickey Sandifer:
Mr. Mayor,
I am writing to you concerning your actions at the city council meeting of 12/11/23. Please be advised that a copy of this email will be published on my blog. Should you desire to respond just email me and I will post your response, in its entirety (unedited).
Let’s start with the beginning. You made it a point to advise all present that the meeting would be conducted in a civil manner. After I spoke regarding the lack of transparency concerning two appointments that you wanted to make your conduct towards the members of the council who apparently were wanting more transparency was anything but civil. Listening to the audio and reading the minutes (once they are published) will confirm my analysis. The Shawnee Mission Post, unfortunately gave you a pass on this one.
You kept stating that the appointments were “mayoral appointments”, as if the council had no say in the manner. It is amazing that with all your years on the council you didn’t learn anything. Yet you used those years as a selling point in your campaign. Why do I say you didn’t learn anything? The following is from the agenda of the meeting:
Consider the Mayor's selection of two councilmembers to
participate in a joint work group with Planning Commissioners to review
potential amendments to the Achieve Shawnee Comprehensive Plan.
The City's Comprehensive Plan is revisited and reviewed regularly
to ensure the Plan remains relevant over time. City staff has
identified some portions of the plan that may need to be revisited for minor
modifications.
Recommendation: Approve the Mayor's selection of two councilmembers to participate in a joint work group with Planning Commissioners to review potential amendments to the Achieve Shawnee Comprehensive Plan.
You will note that the mayor may make the selection, but the council has to approve the action. Your dictatorial attitude and childish tantrum needs to be held in check. Again, listening to the audio and/or reviewing the minutes will bear this out. And again, the Shawnee Mission Post gave you a pass and apparently did not research that what you were attempting to do was not proper. Or do you expect the council to be a “rubber stamp” council like the one you served on?
When a member of the council suggested putting the item in front of the Council Committee prior to resubmitting it to the Council you basically went ballistic. And, you showed that you did not understand your position, as you said that that was not right since you were not a member of the Council Committee. Again, even after all your years on the council you failed to learn anything about our city government. The following is an excerpt from Section Eight of Charter Ordinance 45:
The Mayor shall serve as an ex officio member of all Standing Committees but shall not have any voting rights on said Committees.
What that means Mr. Mayor is that you can sit in on the Council Committee meeting. You can even voice your opinion and attempt to convince others of your position on an issue. You just can’t vote on items presented to it. Don’t believe me? Check with the city attorney. Maybe you need a refresher course in Shawnee 101. And again, the Shawnee Mission Post gave you a pass on this one. Did they ever research Charter Ordinance 45 to show that you were not accurate in your statement?
You may have won the election, but you did not receive a mandate. A difference of 330 votes when 14,544 votes were cast translates to the fact that almost half of those voting did not want you in that position and that they will be closely monitoring how you perform. Just in case you don’t understand what a mandate is……..” When a politician wins an election by a wide margin, that's a mandate to implement their ideas.”
Ray Erlichman
