Wednesday, 22 February 2012

Rules Is Rules

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "The Purpose Of Rules":

Why would David be humiliated?You have confused me.We know what he put up with but cannot speak up

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "The Purpose Of Rules":
Normally you go into great detail. Please give us more information about what happened at last night's meeting.

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A meeting of Council, in public, is not the place to speak up.

David Heard had delegation status at the Meeting of Council in Committee last night. The reason for the request related to the old post office clock.

He withdrew  that purpose and started to speak of something else. He said it related to an individual who could be identified. He said he intended to be diplomatic.

I was in the chair because it was my turn.The exercise is to give Councillor's experience at presiding over a meeting.

I told David I would not allow him to speak about an individual
who could be identified. I explained the rules do not  allow it.

I stated it plainly. Perhaps brusquely. I don't think there is any other way .It has to be firm. .

Being in the chair is a serious responsibility. A meeting can quickly get out of hand. The chair must be  confident.

I don't know any other way..

If David had asked me beforehand I would have warned him what to expect.

If I embarrassed him by cutting him off  and I acknowledge I might , it would undoubtedly have been worse if I let him get into his complaint  and stir up a hornet's nest.

At least, it wasn't on camera.

David is a friend  but there was no other way to deal with  the situation.

I would have done the same thing if Moses himself  came down from the mountain with his own set of rules.

. 
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16 comments:

  1. Anonymous22 February 2012 at 17:07

    Reminds me of when a member of the public addressed the council a number of years ago and Mr West told him to sit down and be quiet.

    You're right - rules are rules. However did Mr Heard sign anything to say that he agreed with the rules? Probably not. Sort of like a councillor not agreeing with other rules..... like a Code of Conduct.

    Rules be damned. You work for us!

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  2. Anonymous22 February 2012 at 17:09

    Well done, Evelyn, we do not want David to end up with a lawsuit of his own to deal with and those who intimidated him would probably not hesitate if it didn't involve using their own money. He must be kept completely out of the fray. I doubt if they would have a crack at him since they are no longer in the safety of their rat pack. But there was a risk at that meeting.
    But he is free to tell his spooky stories, including what monsters lurked here, as he goes about life in town. They can't stop that.

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  3. Anonymous22 February 2012 at 17:57

    You can still feel the legal chill in town when we move to protect yet another of our own. But everything that has happened to the Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight was due to their own sheer stupidity. If they hadn't gone after Evelyn and David and the Citizen they would not be in their current state. Makes one almost believe in Karma.

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  4. Anonymous22 February 2012 at 19:28

    If he was about to talk about Ballard or Wilson then I would understand his frustration.You did the right thing Councilor but what is he to do when his rights and person have been violated by the latter.That is fact as Wilson tried to apologies, did he not?
    I have heard that David feared a SLAPP lawsuit also and did not report it to the police because of it.My understanding is he brought it to the attention of the CAO.

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  5. Anonymous22 February 2012 at 19:38

    Only Sher gets free speech in the chambers.

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  6. Anonymous23 February 2012 at 10:10

    I sincerely hope this is not a recent case of bullying but a left-over chunk of garbage from the last council. If it is recent then we do need to nip it in the bud, hard and firmly.

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  7. Anonymous23 February 2012 at 11:23

    To 10:10
    It is not recent.I spoke to David at the Arctic Adventure and he was not pleased at possibly being brought into a battle between two councilors over the Cultural Center.He also mentioned a public
    tongue lashing he received on Saturday from a past Board member of the center.I know David has been troubled by the Church Street School fiasco.He mentioned some emails that he did not take kindly to about his delegating,but would not elaborate.
    On a side note I was very pleased to see David having such a great time at the event.He was smiling from ear to ear.I know the Town Park has not been a friendly environment for David as some of the physical attacks from last term happened there.The bullies marked that territory well.Keep on smiling David and do not let the bullies stop that smile.

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  8. Anonymous23 February 2012 at 12:00

    Is it just me (probably) but if a member of the public (or even a councillor) has been physically attacked as stated here, why is he looking to address council and not taking this to the police?

    For crying out loud, there were/are some "bullies" within the Town but they are verbal or cyber bullies. If there has been a physical altercation, proper legal channels are available. Stop with the pussy-footing.

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  9. Anonymous23 February 2012 at 12:09

    Saturday sounds pretty recent to me. Was this ' public tongue lashing ' witnessed by anyone ?

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  10. Anonymous23 February 2012 at 12:11

    "...he was not pleased at possibly being brought into a battle between two councilors over the Cultural Center (sic)."

    I'm puzzled; he's not a councillor, nor is he a member of the centre's board. So, apart from being a resident of the town, what's it got to do with him?

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  11. Anonymous23 February 2012 at 15:46

    I think it may have been said already but the justice system is slow and fear of a lawsuit is real in this quaint little town.

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  12. Anonymous23 February 2012 at 15:49

    12:00 PM
    Yes, it is just you and your being unaware of the background. Butt out. Usually your ignorance is easy to ignore , .NOYB

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  13. Anonymous23 February 2012 at 16:08

    12:11 PM { also likely 12:00 PM}
    Did you really say David could not be involved because he is just a resident? How condescending and arrogant! There is no such thing as simply being a resident and we have seen that residential status does not protect one from bullies. Get your head in gear. You sound like that creature who hides behind the Stooges.

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  14. Anonymous23 February 2012 at 16:54

    ENOUGH!
    This should not be discussed up here. We could do damage while trying to help.

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  15. Anonymous23 February 2012 at 20:30

    12:00 PM
    Do your history for heaven's sake. The physical attacks were in the past and were witnessed. If you see fit to bitch about every little thing ,it would be a good idea to know what you are talking about. This is your version of life? Blissful ignorance.

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  16. Anonymous23 February 2012 at 22:47

    Hey, calm down, @ 4:08 (& 3:49). The point is that he isn't a part of either decision-making body associated with the centre. I was puzzled how someone with no responsibility for the place, a resident like the rest of us, was worried about "possibly being brought into a battle". Why try to intimidate someone who can't influence proceedings?

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