Fish,Fowl or Good Red Herring

I toyed with the idea of rising on a Question of Privilege last night.

At the previous council meeting, the Mayor stated   'Your conduct is inappropriate, Councillor Buck"

I waited  for the follow-up. None  came .

I asked; "Are you ruling me out of order, Mr..Mayor"

"I am" he said.

"Are you going to specify a reason, Mr.Mayor" I asked.

"No I am not " he said.

I think I said he had to . He  just repeated  that my conduct was inappropriate

Here's the thing; if a Councillor makes a statement that offends Council or a Councillor,
the presiding member has a duty to call the member to order. Point out the offending  statement.

The member then has an opportunity to remedy either with a withdrawal or an apology or both.

It called civil discourse. It;s the reason for the rules of order.

Without stating the point of order, the Mayor had no authority to interrupt me while I was speaking.

He was out of order. The remedy then is for the Councillor  to challenge the ruling of the chair.

At the time though what came into my head was that scene in Scent of Woman when Al Pacino
whacked  a table with his cane and  roared.

"No. you're out of order. If I was the man I was ( he was a combat veteran) I would take a flame thrower to this place" There was a lot more about the school being a place to shape young minds
and  what the principal was doing was the opposite.

The Principal, under threat of expulsion of a scholarship student, was trying to force him to give up names of other students for  dropping a paint bomb on his car.

It was a great scene in a great movie.

Anyway, I didn't rise on a question of privilege. There were other matters of priority,

But it was interesting to note. Time is of the essence when  there are delegations present.

The rules allow questions from Councillors. They specifically do not allow discussion  or debate or any other exchange wit the delegate.

The rules are not observed. Either Councillor Humfryes or Gaertner will feel compelled to express
heart- felt appreciation to the delegate for their service to the community.

Last night was no exception. First it was Councillor Gaertner then Thomson, I think Pirrie got in a word or two but the torrential outpouring came from Councillor Abel. On and on he lavished  enough praise to fertilize the entire ravine.

The Mayor gazed complacently throughout.  Obviously  completely satisfied with the Councillors supremely appropriate conduct.

Oblivious to the rules that prohibit the same.

People  half my age feel  sometimes  compelled to  remind me of how things  change. As if they better situated  in youth to judge than I am in maturity.

Times past,  a performance like Councillor Abel's last night would have drawn a collective groan from around the Council table.

A politician blatantly trying to catch a glow from somebody else's effort would quickly be  called to order.

With Mayor Dawe, things mostly depend on what makes him comfortable.