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Thursday, June 14, 2007

Local Talk Host Forcibly Removed from Asheville City Council Meeting



My previous post on this subject(mysteriously, or negligently!) disappeared.

So, here goes again:


Hat Tip to Tim Peck for the video, and Sandra for the alert to listen to WWNC.

Background:

The Asheville City Council has been on a tear to change over from non-partisan elections to partisan election. Specifically, Shadow Mayor Brownie Newman has been pimping for this idea.

I have supported it, because I see advantage to the GOP in this situation due to the neo-Stalinists on the City-Council showing their hand too early.

Tim Peck posting on issue.



By a vote of 4-3, Asheville City Council last night
voted to give political parties an unfair advantage and special protected access
to the local electoral process. With Councils' vote, the second largest block of
voters in Asheville, people who register as unaffiliated, will have to meet much
more stringent and restrictive standards to get involved in local politics than
those who are Democrats or Republicans. Council members Brownie Newman, Holly
Jones, Robin Cape and Bryan Freeborn not only voted to turn local elections into
partisan competitions, but they also voted to not allow public comment on the
issue last night. That’s at least consistent isn’t it? An interesting note,
there was a majority in support of having public comment until the city attorney
pointed out that having public comment on the issue last night would have
prevented them from enacting the measure in time to effect this years municiple
election. At that point, Bryan Freeborn changed his vote and denied public
comment to the chamber full of residents waiting to speak by a vote of 4-3.
Bryan Freeborn, by the way, wasn't even elected to City Council - he was
appointed... Interestingly enough - by the very people he voted with to restrict
the election process.After the vote to restrict public comment, the Council
quickly moved to pass the partisan election measure.


Source: Matt Mittan's post on his "removal" from the public square.

I will have more audio links later this afternoon after work, and culled snippets.

The Asheville City-Council Elections just got exciting!
at

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