The divorce between Mayor Alan Autry and the Fresno City Council was completed Wednesday when the council didn't even show the mayor enough respect to vote on his police auditor proposal. It's one thing to vote a proposal down, it's quite another not to have enough members show up to even vote.
I can't remember a mayor being treated so poorly -- even Jim Patterson, who had daily battles with the council. At least they heard him out before disagreeing with him on policy matters.
But on Wednesday afternoon, the council didn't produce a quorum, leaving a seething Autry standing at the altar, so to speak. Autry wanted the council to put his police auditor proposal on the November ballot. The council blew him off.
There's no doubt that Autry is a lame duck because of term limits, and his status was confirmed Wednesday by an absentee council led by Jerry Duncan and Mike Dages. But the council members could have at least shown up to vote on his proposal. They were miffed that he brought the proposal back after they had repeatedly voted it down. They wanted to show him up, but they only revealed their character.
By the way, Bee reporter Denny Boyles said the mayor was angry at me because The Bee editorial board opposed putting the auditor issue on the ballot. We have long supported establishing a police auditor, but editorial board members thought that this proposal by the mayor was a last-minute desperation move.
He didn't like today's editorial, and this is what the mayor said at the podium at what had become a council committee meeting:
"The local newspapers didn't help. They have supported the independent police auditor all along, but when it came time for a show of courage, Jim Boren ran like a scared dog. I've never seen an individual so fearful of the people that has the power of the pen. He's obviously influenced two council members."
Here's today's editorial on the reasons we did not go along with the mayor on putting the issue on the ballot.
The mayor's erratic behavior seems to be increasing. Last week, he called for the citizenry to commit felonies by not paying their taxes. Why? So the big growers in Westlands can get their hands on water that belongs to other people. He will be the captain of a ship of fools when he leads a contingent to Washington, D.C. next month to argue for more water for Westlands, which, by the way, is not in the city of Fresno. Many of us will be thankful that his long running drama queen show is coming to a close. Perhaps if he had spent more time at City Hall than his favorite upscale coffee shop he would have generated more support for his often cockamamie ideas. Even when he comes up with a good idea he doesn't seem to know how to sell it.
It was not a matter of disrespect at all and that implication is a bit offensive. In my eight years on the City Council, the standard process for setting a meeting that needs to be scheduled on a day other than Tuesday is for the Council President to ask the Council members who is available for a designated meeting time. When he finds a time that works for the Council, it is scheduled.
It is not uncommon for Councilmembers to plan other activities or make commitments that cannot be easily changed. This is especially true during our Council breaks which we started today.
For some reason for this meeting today this did not occur. The first time I heard of this meeting was late Friday night when I received my final Council Agenda and saw the meeting scheduled for 2 PM today. No one had contacted me about my availability for this meeting before it was scheduled and if they had I would have informed them that I had a personal commitment and would not be able to attend.
It is the City Council Presidents responsibility to make sure a quorum is available for a special meeting when it is scheduled. I did inform the Council President this morning that I could not attend.
It is also a bit puzzling to me that this was not put on the agenda for our normal business day on Tuesday. We could have easily voted on it then as all the information was included in our agenda packet we received Friday. There was no legitimate reason for it to be scheduled on a special day.
Autry's choices of regional causes to "support" continue to bewilder. I hope Henry T. and Ashley are taking notes on how not to pursue policy changes. Also, newbies: Give us a break on the grandstanding, too.
On the issue: I don't wish the hardworking people of the west side any ill will. But I sure wish that more people in this state would listen to folks like Lloyd Carter and consider retiring much of the land in the Westlands district. Aren't there other ways to support the west side and its residents -- manufacturing? technology? sustainable energy? other industry with way more imagination? -- that don't result in such waste of water? It seems like there should be.
'Dirty bomb' Duncan is brassed off that he will not be in the running for the job that Mayor Autry now has. He will be made redundant in January and MOI guesses that his last few months are going to be filled with 'payback', one of which was the Mayor.
Whatever DWARF Duncan says, MOI can not believe that if it were a matter he really cared about, he would have made an effort to be there. MOI knows about schedules, and politicians always pull that trick when they want to slip under the wire.
'Dirty bomb' Duncan wanted to make a fool out of Mayor Autry, and he did so in a very public manner. Does he really think that folks are fooled by his reply?
Fess up DWARF Duncan, you are brassed off at the voters, other members of the City Council, and lord knows who else. Acting like a child only confirms what voters knew that you lack the ability to truly LEAD.
If I'm understanding correctly, I have to support Mr. Duncan on this.
There are (or should be) regularly-scheduled meetings for the Council to meet and discuss this type of topic. Creating or hiring an auditor is not and emergency requiring any special meeting, and the topic should have simply been added to the next City Council meeting agenda.
Sounds like some kind of "surprise" topic that came down without warning in order to be rushed through to a vote without the opportunity for a full discussion; just like the FUSD superintendant's $100,000 raise. In case you can't recall, that went public on a Monday evening and was presented for a vote barely 48 hours later at a Wednesday school board meeting.
Mr. Duncan, I might suggest you move at the next City Council meeting that any item to be added to any meeting agenda must be introduced at least 2 weeks prior, in order to facilitate discussion and planning. Short of any immediate physical threat to Fresno's population, short-notice additions to a meeting agenda, as well as short-notice "emergency meetings," are unnecessary.
It seems the council had the information in their packets since Friday. This has been in discussion for along time so they could have easily shown up to cast their no votes as they are so determined to do. Being on the council is a job which requires attendanceso sorry to ask that you miss your round of golf. I don't think it is necessary for a police audtor a;though I have not heard the pros and cons. I just choose to believe that our police are doing a great job trying to fight this uphill battle in our communities. Familes that have relatives committing crimes and endangering the lives of police and others are gonna end up getting shot or something. They have a choice.
I disagree with Mayor Autry...Jim may be a "lap dog"(for the McClatchys) but he ain't no "scared dog".
Jim is more like a 'pit bull' and whatever he bang on about is heart felt, even if MOI thinks he is wrong at times, at least his has the courage to place his views in open for all to see.
Mayor Autry should take a cue from fellow actors and not react so horrid to bad press reviews, it goes with the job/performance.
Good leaders are excellent communicators. They plan well in advance and work hard to create relationships and carefully build consensus on a personal level. Examples of this are Bill Jones, Jim Costa, Ken Maddy and Cal Dooley. Conducting public policy by way of impromptu press conference at the eleventh hour is not how to succeed. The candidates for mayor need to take the time to do this necessary hard work.
For Mayor Autry to portray the lack of quorum as not doing the job description is quite ironic. If he would do the minimum and show up to City Hall even half the time, he would not have to blame the hapless editorial writers and others with an opinion contrary to his own.
RobDeFrees your comments say something about your character and deminish your credibility.
I believe Duncan and Autry have a working relationship so your assumptions are incorrect in the first place.
I believe Autry has a communication problem. He should have known by now how the system works. At least he didn't call the meeting at his Starbucks office.
Rich,
Do I contradict myself?
Very well then I contradict myself,
(I am large, I contain multitudes.)
Walt Whitman, "Song of Myself"
US poet (1819 - 1892)
MOI has been told oft that he has no character, but is a character. Ta for the mention, as to the relationship between the two mentioned, as the Brits say;
"Pure Bollucks", besides both are redundant in positions and what does it matter now?