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Small-town politics do not get their just due from the
cultural elite. We get big-city politics in Spin
City,
and rural social life in re-runs of Mayberry
R.F.D.,
but hinterland politics occur beneath the
national radar.
This is generally fine by me, since few events this side of being buried alive offer as much pure tedium as listening to a board discuss whether 60- or 75-watt light bulbs would better serve at the sewer plant.
But things around here have sure become lively in the past fortnight, when I ended up suing the City of Salida.
The tale starts with Monika Griesenbeck, an artist who was elected to the city council last November and took office in January.
Monika has gained a reputation as something of a
loose cannon,
but as a citizen, I figure better a
loose cannon than no cannon at all.
She has raised
many questions about city operations and finances, and she
got crosswise of the city attorney over a leaked memo.
In the four months since Monika took office, the
situation seems to have developed into what Martha calls
Mouthy Woman Muzzling Syndrome,
which is short for
how society tries to stifle women who ask too many
questions.
As a rural white guy without a college degree, I really can't speak to that.
But on April 24, I saw Monika, who had a memo in hand
that invited her to a special meeting of the city council
to discuss various allegations of your potential
inappropriate behavior and actions as a council member.
These involve potential bid rigging with a bidder for the
meter project ...
Are they going to arrest me?
she asked. She
explained her side of the story, which didn't sound
anything like bid-rigging to me.
But I'm a journalist of sorts, and I wanted to hear the
other side. On the following Monday, April 27, I asked
Mayor Ralph Taylor if the Monika hearing was going to be
open. The way I see it, if Monika wants it open, then
it'll have to be,
he said.
On Tuesday, though, I saw a notice posted at city hall:
Agenda: Executive Session to discuss personnel
matters.
It struck me that a hearing on allegations against an
elected official wasn't exactly a personnel matter
as I understood the term, but I'm no lawyer. So I called
one, Ernest Marquez.
His specialty is criminal law, not municipal matters, so
he said he'd have to check on it. He called back after
noon. I don't read it that way either. There's a clear
legal distinction between city personnel and elected public
officials, and that hearing should be public, not in
executive session.
I asked if he'd come to the meeting and explain this to the other city council members, but we quickly realized they'd listen to the city attorney, not to us.
The problem with the Open Meetings Law (the Sunshine
Law) is that you can't just call the sheriff and get the
city council arrested when you have reasonable grounds to
suspect a violation. I asked Ernie what we could do.
Get an injunction,
he said.
Why don't you do that?
I asked.
Because I can't go to court on my own,
he
explained. I need a client with standing to bring the
action.
I mulled for a few minutes. I hate lawsuits. But I also believe public business should be conducted in public, and I'd be the worst form of hypocrite if I were in a position to prevent a secret meeting of a public body concerning a public official, and I didn't act.
So I said Let's go for it.
The district court
granted an injunction that afternoon which in essense said
that if the city council wanted to hold a hearing about
Monika, and Monika wanted the hearing to be public, then it
had to be public.
The council chamber was packed with angry people last Tuesday evening. After conferring in executive session with the city attorney about the injunction, council voted 5-1 to fight the injunction, rather than just hold the hearing in public.
Wednesday morning, Merle Baranczyk, publisher of the local daily and my former employer, called me and said he wanted to join the action to get public business conducted in public. Since my resources would be pretty well exhausted after I paid Ernie for getting the injunction, I thanked Merle profusely. Bill Murphy, owner and general manager of KVRH Radio here, also agreed to join.
The court hearing was yesterday afternoon, after my column deadline, so I have no idea how this will turn out. But that's how I came to sue the city.
I blame it on mouthy women. One represents me on the city council. I'm also married to one, and we begat two of them. I'd like to advise my fellow redneck yokels out here in the boondocks -- really, it's not that horrible to have mouthy women around.
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