The mayor of Alexandria was right on target when she charged the City Council of acting in an undemocratic and draconian fashion after they recently voted to alter the city’s long standing “open mike” policy. Up until now, the first 30 minutes of the monthly public hearing has always been reserved for citizens to discuss issues not on the docket, but Vice Mayor Justin Wilson proposed a change that would allow only 15 citizens to speak at the front end of the public hearing. Since additional speakers must wait until the end of the hearing (which could be five to eight hours later), this is an inconvenience to taxpaying citizens.
It is regrettable that Mr. Wilson’s un-docketed proposal did not have the benefit of public comment. It is obvious that the six City Council members who voted to adopt this change have forgotten their original purpose, which is to support their constituents, the citizens of Alexandria. The vice mayor and his colleagues continue to treat the good citizens of Alexandria with the disdain that is normally reserved for dictatorships.
My position has always been to have a system of checks and balances, which this situation clearly did not have. If the City Council continues to rubber stamp all proposals, they will be working themselves out of a job. Why have City Council meetings at all when the results are a foregone conclusion?