The first council meeting was actually three events! First the standing mayor, in this case Don Baker, opened a council meeting with pre-election council members. Tabulation of election day votes, called canvassing voting results, is conducted. It is then voted into adoption. Unless there is evidence of impropriety at the booth, the results are accepted as a true reflection of citizen votes. The votes were accepted. Next the standing council moves to adopt the results. They did and the results were adopted. Finally, that first mini-meeting is brought to a close. As a point of reference - all council meetings are subject to the approved rules of Robert's Rules of Order.
The second event is a ceremony, where all new members elected to the council are sworn in. This is done by the city attorney ( David Cherry) and all new members sign an affidavit.
The final event is a second council meeting. Standing Mayor Don Baker called the meeting to order and opened with a prayer. This begins the first official meeting by the new council.
The first two items on the agenda become the election of mayor followed by the election of the mayor pro tem. Another point of reference -- cities differ on how a mayor is seated. Some are voted in by citizens in the general election ( think Waco), while some are are voted in by the council from among seated members. The path and mechanism is determined by approved city ordinance. Woodway's ordinance allows for the seated council to elect the mayor and mayor pro tem. Point of Reference - the term "pro tem" comes from the word temporary, so the mayor pro tem is actually a person that can serve as mayor temporarily or for a limited time.
David Cherry, city legal council, called for nominations. Incumbent Jane Kittner nominated Don Baker; after a moment, incumbent Scott Giddenings seconded. Immediately Bill Weber, new member, was nominated and seconded by fellow new members Paul Scibeilski and Chuck Garner. A vote was cast, and as noted by Chuck Garner in his blog, Bill Weber was elected by "party line" vote. Bill takes the mayor seat, voicing a word of thanks. By his words, Bill will be stumbling through the meeting since he has never been elected to a public office before. David Cherry is asked by Bill to continue and nominations for mayor pro tem begins. New member Gil Lillard is nominated and seconded again by party members Paul Scibeilski and Chuck Garner. No one else is nominated and Gil is elected mayor pro tem. Weber states he thinks as a matter of protocol, the mayor pro tem should be seated next to him.
The meeting is now in the hands of the new mayor. Following the agenda, he calls for the annual acceptance of Roberts Rules of Order, tenth addition. Mayor pro tem Lillard quickly makes the following motion - he wants to defer acceptance as he has not read Roberts Rules of Order. He asks for this to be postponed for a month, until the third council meeting. The motion is seconded by a new member. With the OB Party holding majority, it passes. Comment --The new council did not accept Roberts Rules of Order. Forget that it is taught in high school, used by almost all non-profit organizations. The OB party wants to take a month to look at it. Love the job but not the homework I guess.
Dear Citizens of Woodway, with dust settling on the first moments of the first meeting, here is a recap of your 10' Woodway City Council:
1. Four O'Bric party members with no experience in city service. No experience on city commissions. No experience on city boards. They nominated and elected the mayor and mayor pro tem from their ranks.
2. Three experienced incumbents ( no party affiliation). They have decades of city experience - service as mayors, as councilmen, and as members of Planning & Zoning among others. All have a proven track record of results and responsibility, verifiable by city records.
Change has come - did you know you elected the OB party to majority? is it what you expected?
Back to the meeting, a call for visitors to speak was made. The stated time limit is to be 3 minutes, but that is discretionary by the Mayor's voice. Party founder Mike O'Bric is the first to talk. He immediately asks for 5 minutes and and receives mayoral approval. Point of reference - Bill's first act is to grant special favor to the man who handled his election campaign.
Now MOB launches into all his lies and slanders against Yost Zakhary, while stating he represents all citizens. During his rant, he brings up a rumor of a clandestine action by Yost to scare people into thinking new members will shut down the Arboretum. Point of reference - the first and only other person to broadcast this rumor was Chuck Garner on his blog. Now five minutes into his speech, Mayor Weber reminds MOB he is up against the granted limit. Mike asks for more, stating his handicap of a "struggling voice" ( remember my earlier blog about the MOB sympathy technique?). The mayor laughs and allows him to continue. At the ten minute mark, the mayor urges him to wrap up again. Then Mayor Weber asks what action MOB is asking for, and must be reminded by incumbents that council can only do that with an agenda item, not a visitor's request. Remember Bill said he would stumble? His actions show he is stumbling towards MOB and the OB Party.
The meeting goes into closed session. The legal representatives were to advise new members on all pending litigation for/against the city, the most prominent being Karen OB's lawsuit against Woodway. At some point the council comes out, finishing misc items and adjoins.
A lot of folks turned out to observe the first meeting. Some well wishers. Some concerned citizens. Some wanting to understand the impact of four new members.
I did not attend the meeting knowing MOB would be taking a verbal "Victory Lap". And why not? His stable of party candidates all won. But I did file an open records act and get a recording of the meeting, using that to write this entry. The conduct and actions of the OB councilmen proves profound. They feel good, but their actions galvanize a number of citizens into motion. I am one of those citizens.
So what about this meeting caused such a backlash - wasn't this just basic stuff?
Next blog: Time to Take A Stand.
