County council’s recent county website posting of an exclusive list of Select Committee assignments was unprecedented in a number of ways. It was an unprecedented county council low because the appointments ignored 42 percent of the sitting council members.
What followed the initial appointments was an unprecedented citizen firestorm against the egregious slighting of three council members. Fortunately, the firestorm manifested an unprecedented backtracking by the chairman that resulted in the appointment of two more members to the standing committees. However, council still chose another unprecedented path by shutting out the lone councilwoman, who had previously served with unprecedented distinction and passion.
All councils for as long as I can remember have displayed some pretty sharp differences between some members. But council members were not shut out because of those differences. Everyone was usually appointed to at least one or two seats/chairmanships on the standing committees.
The 2017 council chair, for example, not only appointed that council’s only female member to committees, but as a chair! She was treated equally. Everyone on council had the opportunity to serve on standing committees as shown below.
Administrative & Finance Committee
- Billy Smith, Chair
- Jimmy Ray Douglas
- Cornelius Robinson
Economic Development
- Dan Ruff, Chair
- Billy Smith
- Mikel Trapp
Public Affairs & Policy
- Bertha Goins, Chair
- Mikel Trapp
- Douglas Pauley
Public Services & Development
- Jimmy Ray Douglas, Chair
- Bertha Goins
- Cornelius Robinson
Our current new 5-member council majority exemplifies the glory days of good ole boyism. Every second and fourth Monday night, they jointly shut out and squash any attempt by two members to have any significant say in Fairfield’s county government. Our leadership is a one-note johnny, every meeting claiming victimhood and blaming others for the majority’s inability to do their job.
Week after week, the five chant ‘we just need to all get along,’ and ‘everyone just needs to be positive,’ then they shut out two of their members, even insinuating that one is not qualified to serve on the standing committees. Our leadership needs to spend more time leading and less time pouting.
Our 5-member majority doesn’t understand that they’re not getting paid $15K- $20K annually to be positive and be happy. They’re getting paid to speak up and to do something – anything! – to improve the county.
Someone has to say it.
Randy Bright
Ridgeway
