Silly Is As Silly Does
Below is an email I received from one of Temple’s numerous silly residents. I was out of town when the radio show they reference was aired but I thought it might make an interesting read. Just for the record, I would be pleased as punch for an uninterrupted 3 - 4 minutes to make the a case for Temple’s taxpayers.
Tony,
Ed Laughlin had Mayor Jones on his radio show this past Saturday. The last 3 or 4 minutes of the show, he asked the Mayor to comment on the conflict of interest issue.
He introduced the segment by saying that Tony Jeter has brought up the conflict of interest situation and he wanted Bill to talk about it - and that he (Ed) didn’t have a problem with it but since it had been in the news, thought the Mayor should say something on it.
The Mayor started out by saying that:
It was within the law and the city charter - everything they did was legal. (Ed could have interjected here but did not — to tell listeners that what we do in the city of Temple is within the minimum state standards and that other cities were moving away from this practice and if they haven’t, they have set up an ethics commission to review the practice in their city.)
It was saving the city money and creating jobs within the city. (”And that’s a good thing”, so what’s the problem?)
If councilmembers weren’t allowed to do business with the city, we couldn’t get qualified people to run for city office. (Ed let this one slip by also. I have yet to understand the reasoning here and it is an asinine statement. )
The Mayor also stated that a lot of the transactions that went to one of his businesses did not even go up for bid because it was under a certain amount and the city uses a purchase order system for these.
Ed did not allow enough time for citizens to call in and ask questions. He also didn’t bring up the fact that all you have asked for is an ethics commission to review the situation as other cities have done and are doing.
It would have been nice to ask the Mayor why he thought it was “ridiculous” of citizens in Temple to be concerned about this practice.
Tags: City Charter, Ethics
August 3rd, 2009 at 7:30 pm
I heard this radio show also. I believe the Mayor was on for the entire show - 2 hours. I did not understand why this subject was not brought up sooner in the show as it has been in the news quite a bit during the last few months.
August 3rd, 2009 at 8:12 pm
You know, the funny thing is, Tony, at this time, you have no skin in this game other than what every other Temple resident also shares. You don’t own/work for a company that stands to profit from city contracts. You aren’t running for re-election. In fact, other than some unseen political motivations, the only thing driving your actions is (a) your dedication to the interests of your constituency, (b) a desire to provide your fellow councilmembers a means to prove that their practices are above-board and (c) a deep-seated sense of what is right and fair.
August 3rd, 2009 at 9:15 pm
I had several folks say the same thing today. I guess softball season is still in full swing.
August 4th, 2009 at 7:12 am
Mr Laughlin has come across as an independent voice in the past… especially on the excessive spending of the school district. Too bad he joined the good old boys club. This was a good opportunity to have an intelligent discussion wasted…
August 4th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
Does anyone really think the Mayor would have gone on the show without some sort of assurance he would be treated well?
August 4th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
And who said this was a serious radio show?
August 4th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
And who said it shouldn’t be? This was a great opportunity to ask the Mayor some hard questions. I agree that this had to be a setup deal.
August 4th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
I did not hear the show but there is usually ample time for people to call in and ask questions. Did Laughlin take any calls?
August 5th, 2009 at 9:35 am
Laughlin did take calls during the show on other matters, however, he stated at the end of the show that he wanted the Mayor’s comments on this topic and admitted he did not have time to take calls because the time was so short. So the Mayor used the same old lines we’ve been hearing but was not questioned on them.
August 6th, 2009 at 4:46 pm
All I know is that if the citizens of Temple re-elect Schnieder or Jones, they are crazy!