Posts Tagged “Mitch Harper”

Having seen the intergovernmental task force on co-location today I much prefer sausage making.

At least with sausage making you can drink a nice German beer, say a Kostritzer from Gera, to dull the pain. There was no such option today. The meeting was comical at times, disappointing most of the time, disrespectful, inarticulate, confused, and oh yes, a mess.

The highly respected John Stafford chairs the task force and even as capable and articulate as he is the meeting got away from him quickly. The seating chart should have been a giveaway. One the left (literally, not figuratively) were Councilmen Tom Smith, Tim Pape and Mitch Harper. On the right (literally and figuratively) were County Council members Roy Buskirk, Paula Hughes and Paul Moss. In the middle (to their misfortune) were commissioners Linda Bloom and Nelson Peters, moderator Stafford and placed uncomfortably near Councilman Moss our fuming Mayor Tom Henry. (Bill Brown fortuitously had scheduled something else moons ago so he was spared the confusion and confrontation and pettiness.)

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By Jim Sack

Last night’s council meeting was so boring that a council member resorted to text messages to keep reporters awake.

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By Jim Sack

Brandon Seifert is running for the Lake Township Advisory Board. Not exactly a marquee office in politics, out there around Arcola, with a budget a fraction of the Wayne Township office, with none of the highly charged issues that surround a mayor’s office or a commissioner’s future. It is a quiet place where raising money for fire protection is paramount.

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By Jim Sack

It was like watching a fine fencing match. First Smith and Brown meet, then Pape and Harper squared off.

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By 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.

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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.

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By 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.

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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.)

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Usually 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.

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Enjoy

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.

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