When the current council business began we said the most important part of the process was going to be transparency.
And anyone who saw the voting can rest assured they received none.
Tonight Mayor Esslinger mentioned an email that was sent to council members as one of the reasons that convinced him to vote for Harold Buchholtz. This suggests -- oh, hell confirms, a certain degree of behind the scenes lobbying that went on before the vote. That may be perfectly within the rules, but often times all it takes is the mere appearance of funny business to delegitimize an otherwise completely appropriate action.
Tonight we got word of an email that only the council got to read; a council member -- McHugh -- who could barely be bothered to explain the rationale for his vote with anything other than a shrug; and a bizarre brief recess in the middle of the vote which, frankly, looked an awful lot like the "closed caucuses" that occur in another legislative body in this state. And at the end of all of this, someone was chosen to fill the seat whom was not on anyone's radar and whom most of the city knows little about ... and if we need any further evidence of this, there was actually a discussion over how to pronounce Mr. Buchholtz's last name at the meeting tonight.
That's not transparency.
Buchholtz deserves a chance and an opportunity to prove his metal. Who knows, he might be a municipal budget ninja? (We're pretty sure if that were the case, however, he would have broken budgets in half with his bare hands during his presentation this evening.) The councilors who voted for him, on the other hand, will get questions from the NW, voters, and especially critics. Some of these will border on the conspiratorial, but that's no one's problem but the councilors.
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5 comments:
How about Esslinger saying how he felt bad having to call a friend and supporter to tell him he wasn't being appointed to a board but he couldn't be bothered to extend the same courtesy to Ted Bowen and Shirley Mattox? Contrary to his bullshit protestations at the meeting about not showing political bias, actions speak louder than words and his actions tell a much different tale than his lips do. Shame on you Paul Esslinger. You're a poor excuse for a mayor and an even poorer excuse for a representative of the people.
On another note, he announced he's having his first media day. More bias is showing here as he mentioned only two media--WOSH and WISS radio. WOSH has been a supporter of his and WISS radio is his employer and is located in Berlin. How many people in Oshkosh listen to that station for news and how many people in Berlin give a hoot about Oshkosh politics? If he really wanted to have a meaningful media day, he'd hold it at a neutral location in town so any media outlet interested could attend, including local bloggers, which are more and more becoming credible news sources. Paul Esslinger would rather play favorites. We're keeping track Paul and each notch on the bias belt will come back to bite you in the ass later. Enjoy your reign. It could end sooner than you think.
Buchholtz = a neophyte chair-warmer who who won't get in anyone's way
yep, wish I'd placed some bets or something. I didn't know the exact name but I knew the type. Naysayers may click my name and read my Osh CC blog post (written before the decision).
And I do strongly agree with Anon 12:59 in his/her implication that this would be a really bad time for The Chief and other "questioners" (I'm sure there are worthy bloggers/commenters out there that I am not aware of) to hang up their keyboards. God, nothing pisses me off more than a false messiah.
Also - as to how legal behind the scenes communications are, well, walking quorums etc are not legal(really hard to prove though) . But so often that is not really needed amongst "cronies" Nuevo Wave-o Cronies or Old Guard types. Think about it, after a certain level of familiarity or friendship, you can just predict what will be "kosher" or not with a person you work with. as much as people may rail against "group think" they will often use it to their own ends. We HAVE to plot and scheme for the Greater Good.
so...has Oshkosh met The Borg? Just have to stay tuned I guess..
Jef Hall is suggesting on his blog there may have been a violation of the open meeting law between Tony Palmeri and Bob Poeschl. Interesting and since Poeschl can't seem to think for himself, believable.
I love to watch people, yes to to a level that's maybe creepy but -WTH. But as the experts say "you can not NOT communicate" and a lot of valuable info is revealed with looks and body language. Now that s/he mentions it (I mean Anon 2:19) during the candidates forum of months past I was struck by the body language. Poeschel glanced deferentially at Palmeri several times after he (Poeschel) spoke. Like he was looking for a sense of validation. hmm. And I beleive at least once answered a question with a "like he said" phrase(meaning Palmeri). It seemed quite "minion-y".
However, when the heat of REAL decision-making is on, and when a newly Elected has to answer for himself/herself to real constituents, they often develop independence. So IF these "gut" impressions about Poeschel are correct, they may change quickly.
When you're on council and some citizen accosts you when you've just gone out to pick up some milk, well, that sort of thing makes you less inclined to carry water for other people.
SOMEtimes anyway. Poeschel also showed sparks of intelligence ;) so there's good reason to hope for independent thought from him, even if he has started as a posse member it may not stay that way.
and Jef Hall should blog more than he has been. And I don't mean spewing snarky party stuff, like HIS personal impressions, things others might have missed, etc.
It's not hard to tell where you lean Chief. You are very creative though. Interesting when bored.
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