By Jim Sack
It was like watching a fine fencing match. First Smith and Brown meet, then Pape and Harper squared off.
Tags: Fort Wayne City Council, Glynn Hines, Karen Goldner, Liz Brown, Marty Bender, Mitch Harper, Tim Pape, Tom Didier, Tom Smith
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Posts Tagged “Marty Bender”
Jan
07
2010
John Crawford for City Council, er Mayor, er….?Posted by Jim Sack in City & County GovernmentBy Jim Sack Well, John Crawford. He offered his support to me when I fought the changes to Calhoun Street, so our last contact was as allies. I also was a strong supporter of a downtown ballpark, so he voted as I probably would have, and I loath smoking, so I have only a few qualms about his effort to force health on us. Additionally, the chats I had with him during his tenure on council informed me that he was very astute, well educated, deeply caring about Fort Wayne and tough. Tags: Fort Wayne City Council, John Crawford, John McGauley, John Shoaff, Liz Brown, Marty Bender, Mitch Harper, Tom Henry, Tom Smith By Jim Sack It was a fresh start last night, all smiles, laughter, joking. City council had not been in session for three weeks and members greeted each other as old friends, almost like a class reunion. Tags: Fort Wayne City Council, John McGauley, John Shoaff, Karen Goldner, Liz Brown, Marty Bender, Mitch Harper, Tim Pape, Tom Didier, Tom Henry, Tom SmithBy Jim Sack The Skybridge and the Embassy. I am still not happy with the arrangement the city has with the new downtown hotel people concerning our access to the sky bridge. “Due to security concerns” the hotel will only make it accessible to we unwashed masses on those rare occasions when the Embassy is hosting an event. Since we paid for the damn bridge we should be able to use it during some sort of regular hours, say 6am to 10pm. Park in the garage near the Marriott and walk from there to the Grand Wayne Parking Garage. Why not? You paid for it and during heavy rain or snowfall it could be a life-saver. Tags: Embassy Theater, Fort Wayne City Council, Grand Wayne, John Shoaff, Karen Goldner, Liz Brown, Marty Bender, Mitch Harper, Tim Pape, Tom Didier, Tom Henry, Tom Smith
The Fraternal Order of Police contract came to the table last night and received a do-pass vote. Police Chief Rusty York strongly supported it at the table. Behind him were two officers representing the FOP. Marty Bender wisely abstained. Tags: City of Fort Wayne, Liz Brown, Marty Bender, Tom HenryUsually the questioning on city council is blunt. Straight forward questions are asked and usually, meandering answers are given by city officials. There was an example of just the opposite last Tuesday. Tags: Fort Wayne City Council, Karen Goldner, Liz Brown, Marty Bender, Mitch Harper, Tim Pape, Tom Henry, Tom Smith
Oct
15
2009
Better than a Soap Opera, Your City Council!Posted by Jim Sack in City & County GovernmentCity council is more interesting to me than any movie, any TV program, many social events. There is occasional drama, humor and pathos, not to mention combat. I am there defending my tax dollar and the character of my city. You should be, too. Tags: Fort Wayne City Council, Glynn Hines, John Shoaff, Karen Goldner, Liz Brown, Marty Bender, Mitch Harper, Rusty York, Tina Taviano, Tom Didier, Tom Henry, Tom Smith
I decided to take time from cleaning the gutters today to give a small retrospective of Mayor Henry’s term in office. I’ve listed below some of Henry’s major non-accomplishments. It’s not all-encompassing, so feel free to add your thoughts in the comments section. Tags: Budget, Earth First, Fort Wayne City Council, Glynn Hines, Gregg Walbridge, Hardball Capital, Harrison Square, I&M, Jerry Henry, John Shoaff, Jon A. Bragalone, Karen Goldner, Liz Brown, Marty Bender, Monosodium Glutamate, National Serv-All, Tim Pape, Tom Didier, Tom Henry, Vince Robinson |
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It was almost a jolly city council meeting last night. Even as the troopers were just beginning to trooped in you could see mostly smiles and friendly gestures. Tom Didier, always a happy guy, was the norm rather than the exception last night; the atmosphere during most of the rest of the year as was exemplified during the budget hearings when low grade snarls emanated from around the table. The meeting last night proceeded that way from front to back, only a couple of times did it seem that Liz Brown might go after someone at the table. (To be clear, Harper and Shoaff hardly ever are draw in to the snarling; Shoaff is a very gentile and collegial council member, Harper is highly conscious of the need for polite decorum and fully observes it.)
Well, that is what Mitch Harper said last night at city council. “Government is the problem.” Government, however, is not the problem, instead it is those who either do not know the rules or who do not bother to play by them. Ignoramuses or cheaters. Mitch was ticked when he condemned all government. He was angry, so he was abrupt, perhaps a bit too abrupt. I think what he meant to say was that certain members of city council simply have no idea of Robert’s Rules of Order and, consequently, cause meetings to resemble a replay of a keystone cops skit. The resulting confusion, according to Mitch, makes council look stupid and inept. The rambling cacophonies waste time, cause the public to “dial out,” and hinders progress.
Except for a visit last night by Ian Roland and Jeff Krull, it was a pretty uneventful night to the casual observer. It was a a committee session with ordinances introduced, rationalized or explained by city officials and passed out of committee. The usual stuff with no great ideological or person skirmishes. Tom Smith was away, and Glynn Hines presided. Tim Pape barely attended. He arrived just in time for his committee bills to be read, whisked through them with abandon and then settled back into his chair as if having crossed a finish line.
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