[Vision2020] The Recall

Joan Opyr auntiestablishment at hotmail.com
Wed Jan 5 21:24:17 PST 2005


John Danahy writes:

"Now this recall is certainly an issue that should be discussed here   But instead of discussing the issue, the pros and cons, the reasons good and bad, we see another side of our community.  We see words like sleazy, snakeoil, sinister, irrational, little boy and GET REAL.  These words do not pretend to relate to the issues at hand but are referenced to individuals.  How truly sad."

I agree that the recall should be discussed on 2020, but I think it's important to take note of the way in which this recall is being conducted -- in the dark, the petition being circulated by "anonymous" businessmen, with only Gerry Weitz stepping forward to take the heat (or, less generously, the limelight.)  Mr. Weitz cannot vote in Moscow.  That he chooses to operate a business here does not, in my opinion, constitute taxation without representation.  He could, if he wished, live in Moscow and thereby exercise the right to vote in city elections, but I suspect the property taxes are much, much lower in Viola.  Viola, however, is not where the big dentistry bucks lie.  Dr. Weitz has made a choice, and it's one that fails to qualify for a Boston Tea Party-style protest.

Now, you ask what's sleazy, what's sinister, what's irrational and little boy about this recall effort?  Speaking only for myself, I think it's unseemly (and, frankly, bad for business) to have a prominent dentist railing in the local rag about "crushing" people on the city council.  We still don't know what precisely constitutes the grounds for the recall of specific council members.  We have only nonsense about the "millions" it costs to operate the 1912 Center -- figures that have since been soundly debunked.  We have accusations about anti-religious feeling with no rational basis in fact, and, again, we have anonymous (or pseudo-anonymous, given how news travels in this town) business people gathering signatures on a recall petition.  The fact that the public face of this group does not actually live in Moscow is what makes it sleazy and sinister, irrational and juvenile.  When the county commissioners faced recall back in 1996(?), we knew who was spear-heading that effort.  It was all above board and out in the open, and the reasons for the recall were clear.  That is not the case with this effort.  I'm reminded of a Gilbert and Sullivan song:

Nevermind the why and wherefore,
We will crush these three and therefore
We will get a city council that does just
What business wants.
  
Let the merry bells of recall
Put democracy in freefall
And replace it with a little sneaky
Ruling from above.  
Then the Old Boy Network
Gets a city council that
They love!
  
(If you’re a fan of Gilbert and Sullivan, I apologize, but you’ll recognize that this does, in fact, scan.)

John continues:

"I would expect that Bill London and Lois Blackburn, founding members of the MCA, would wish to defend and support the council members the organization endorsed."

And I expect they will, but before they can even begin to construct a defense, they need to put out the structural fire that Dr. Weitz so carelessly started with his inflammatory interview in the Daily News.  Just as an aside, I think it's worth noting that neither Lois nor Bill are entirely subsumed by the Moscow Civic Association.  They are members of that organization, but first and foremost, they are private citizens, and they are taxpaying residents of the City of Moscow.  Why assume when they speak, they speak always for the MCA?  Sometimes, unless they indicate otherwise, I would assume they speak for themselves.   

I had the pleasure of having dinner with Lois Blackburn tonight, and that glass of Merlot she ordered was for her and her alone.  I am a witness to the fact that she didn't share it around the MCA like communion wine.  She drank all of it.

Joan Opyr/Auntie Establishment
Member of the MCA, but speaking only for herselfGet more from the Web.  FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com
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