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Mayor Changes Meeting Rules - Again
Cafeteria Justice in City Hall:

Navigating Fourth Grade Fairness in Blaine’s Civic Turmoil

This is a personal topic to me, the author; but having said that, I’ll try to report this in a fair and balanced fashion.  As the public pressure on Blaine’s city council intensifies, the council continues to make bold moves to silence the voices of their citizens. The city’s latest move was to prohibit citizen input through Zoom audience participation. Mayor Mary Lou Steward went a step farther by prohibiting recorded comments from someone who would have participated in the zoom session – me. Yes, the mayor shut me down. Without warning, and without reason, she shut down my chance to speak. Perhaps this happened since our group represents the voice of dissent. 

 

Zoom participation has become a mainstay in city government participation since the dawn of the pandemic. It has continued post pandemic as a way for members of a community to engage in public discourse and debate, regardless of their ability to attend meetings.  The benefit of remote participation cannot be understated. It’s a tool by which voters without the means or ability to attend meetings in person can still have a voice in the democratic process. Remote participation is a tool used by a wide range of citizens. It includes citizens who are ill, or traveling, or at work, or who have social anxiety with a fear of public speaking. 

 

Blaine’s city council has taken a series of steps recently to limit the voices of criticism. This might even be understandable, based on the allegations facing the council. It’s understandable, but not justified. It is certainly not rooted in the fundamentals of democratic principles. A representative government encourages voices of opposition, regardless of their alignment with the current administration. 

 

When city council announced that they would not be broadcasting on zoom and thus would not be taking online participation, we all thought this was a government overstepping their authority. Personally, I wanted my voice heard in this critical moment in our community. I spent a considerable amount of time crafting my message to be presented to city council. When an outspoken member of the community signed me in to speak with the intent to play the audio recording, the mayor immediately shut that down. Mayor Steward claimed that the citizen approaching the podium had already spoken, and that she was not permitted to play the audio by the absent member of the community – me. For context, the citizen stated: “If our research is correct, it suggests that three of them (on city council) have criminal records. Ranging from assault, disorderly conduct, and making false statements to public servants. This would make up over 40% of our city council."

 

Obviously, these statements were hard to hear by council. If based in fact, it’s noteworthy for the public to be aware of. She did not name specific names out of respect for the council members. When the mayor called “The Professor”- me to speak, that outspoken member had my audio recording ready to play. It was never granted. It was shut down. The mayor summoned the kind police officer to enforce her rules. As a side note, that same police officer, after chatting with the citizen later, stated that he wished he had understood the circumstances fully. He would have insisted that the audio be played. 

 

All of this comes on the heels of a series of new rules and selective enforcement by city council aimed at silencing the voices of dissent. In city council’s defense, the questions from our group are serious. We are asking if there is a possibility of ethical breaches, conflicts of interest, rules violations, failure to report gifts, undue influence , obstruction of justice, and selective enforcement of their own rules. The list goes on. 

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City council is aware of our intentions of making a formal report to the highest levels of government. In the wake of that, they have selectively attempted to silence our group. The fourth grader in me wants to jump up on the cafeteria bench and yell:  “THAT’S NOT FAIR!” Unfortunately, fourth grade justice is left in – well, the fourth grade cafeteria. 

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One of the first tactics lobbed at our group in the past month to impede and silence us include the city council abruptly putting an end to sharing minutes when our group became too vocal. This meant that a more timid voice in the group (me) could no longer give his time to the more vocal.  Also, we witnessed selective enforcement of rules against only our group. Specifically, the council would let friendly people speak off topic but abruptly stop our group from going off topic since we were critical of their actions. In addition, city council recently passed an ordinance that allows for an indefinite time period to fulfill our public records requests. All of this has happened within the scope of one month. 

And then it brings us to the most recent meeting. The city shut down zoom to presumably limit outspoken criticism. They justify this due to an incident weeks ago where a zoom person went on an unfortunate rant with offensive and derogatory language. Other cities have figured out how to secure zoom for productive discourse. Instead of taking security measures, our council summarily dismissed the marginalized voices in our society (me) from having our voices heard over zoom. That’s ok. I’m not a fourth grader anymore. While it’s not “fair”, it’s also not surprising. It speaks to the situation that our council finds themselves in. 

 

Never in the history of Blaine has an elected government come under such scrutiny. Now the government is deciding to fight back against the people instead of answering basic questions. While it all sounds like schoolyard bully tactics, it is not. It’s the reality we find ourselves in while living in this beautiful town. 

 

So, in the spirit of elementary school justice, here is the speech that I prepared and sent to be delivered to the council. It’s not my voice. Mine would not impress you. Mine would be as shaky as it would be in the schoolroom cafeteria. But the words are mine and it's the voice I would choose if I could. And the justice is all of ours.

 

The Professor

Seeker of Justice

 

P.S. The time limit was 3 minutes so the original version was sped up to meet the time criteria. This is the original version without speeding up the voice. 

Cafeteria Justice
00:00 / 03:39

Equal Justice Under the Law?
City Council Selectively Enforced Rules
Rowdy Crowd Erupts

November 16, 2023 3:11am (no joke)

BLAINE, WA:

"Fascist!" "Back to the nut house!" "I should have wore my Satan suit – will you listen to me now?." "You people have lost the ability to govern." "The truth will set you free." "They're making a grave mistake." "I'm going to uncover every dirty thing that's happened in this city." "You tried to push over the residents of Blaine, and now you figured out how bad of an idea that is - we are resilient"

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Ah, yes, just another day in our sleepy two-stoplight town at the latest city council meeting. In a bi-monthly event that should rate somewhere between cleaning your gutters and counting grains of sand, citizens are showing up to see the main event. Why? Well, of course, to argue over the latest change to the public records rules that the city proposed (and, of course, passed – despite the wishes of the citizens). The audio tracks range from local antique store owner, Wild Bill, quoting Twilight Zone "a dictator doesn't realize their worst enemy until it's too late", and a passionate woman taking us back to the Stamp Act. It meanders through threats of getting someone from the State Attorney General's office involved (spoiler alert – she's on city council), to allegations of quid-pro-qo. Police should have  handed out bakery line tickets for all of the people asking for escorts to their cars.

 

It got so out of hand that the city council had to call for a recess, and for police backup. The Mayor, affectionately known by some as "Mobile Home Mary," didn't disappoint. The author thinks that if the city is in a budget crisis, they should scrap the mobile home park idea and sell tickets to this event. Watch out Taylor Swift, there's a new show in town: Blaine's City Council. 

On a serious note, one of the most concerning moments in the meeting was when a speaker was voicing her concerns over the city’s lack of transparency and then went off topic. The speaker did this to bring to light some alarming information that she thought the citizens needed to know immediately about another community in Kodiak, Alaska where they implemented a rental mobile home park. The results in Kodiak alarmed her, and she felt she needed to forewarn the community. The mayor abruptly stopped the speaker and said she was off topic. The speaker said she would get right back on topic, and Council Member Mike Hill first proclaimed, “You’re done!” Mayor Steward agreed passionately with Hill and proclaimed, “You’re done.” There was no warning, even though there was still time remaining on the speaker’s allocated five minutes. Audience members reacted passionately, and the mayor called a recess until things calmed down. Taken alone, this might not be concerning as Hill and the mayor could claim they were adhering to the rules of the meeting. Where this gets troublesome is in their selective enforcement of the meeting rules.

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speaker gets shut down

Soon after the recess, Bill Becht, the owner of the local Horseshoe Coins & Antiques, gave a full, five-minute impassioned, yet off-topic speech (he did have some very interesting points). The mayor initially warned him to stay on topic, but then let him continue to speak off topic. When Becht finished his speech after the bell sounded, the first speaker noticed the injustice and said, “Excuse me, shouldn’t I get my time back, my one minute, since you let him speak; but you cut me off and refused me, and he was off topic?” The mayor simply said, “No.” It is interesting that the citizens were noticing the injustices, but not the council members or the mayor who seemed not to care.

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different rules for some

Equal Justice Under the Law? This is a fundamental right that we enjoy in this great nation, in fact, it’s part of our 14th amendment of the Constitution stating “…EQUAL protection of the laws.” While municipal rules are not law, shouldn’t we, as citizens expect equal treatment under Blaine’s Rules of Procedure? Would Blaine’s founding fathers and mothers want unequal treatment under the rules, or would they demand equality and justice for all?  When Mayor Steward simply warned Becht to stay on topic, after abruptly cutting off the previous speaker, who was a known vocal critic, this raised concerns about the equal enforcement of rules regardless of political differences. Becht continued his excited, off topic speech with impunity, for his fully allotted time. Most notably, and some would argue even more glaring, were council members Kerena Higgins and Richard May who remained silent during the selective enforcement with a show of passive complicity towards council member Mike Hill and the mayor. As elected officials, and proponents of justice, does the fullest weight of ethics fall on the silent? Glaring social injustice was unfolding before their eyes with selective enforcement and they allowed it to proceed with a nod to the complicated power structure evident in Blaine politics. If the mayor and Hill wield such power in the local government to even silence their counterparts, is it any wonder that the local citizens have been disenfranchised and intimidated?

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Higgins is Senior Counsel at the Washington Attorney General's Office. Let that sink in for a moment. If a police officer saw a crime being committed, would it be their ethical duty to step in? These dual hats that Higgins wears as a council member and as an employee of the Attorney General’s Office raises questions about the ethical complexities and expectations in such situations. Should we expect Higgins to be held to a higher standard when seeing a municipality injustice unfold before her eyes?  Was it Higgin’s civic duty to stand up for justice on behalf of the citizens? After all, in addition to the oath she took to the great citizens of Blaine, she took a higher oath...to The Constitution. Does her silence loudly declare that the current power structure is untouchable?

 

Hope is in the air, however. There has been a notable shift of power in Blaine since “The Vote.” We’ve gone from a town where citizens just accepted that they had no voice in government to a climate of increased involvement and a focus on the cornerstones of our great democracy: ethics, transparency, equal justice, and a demand for a representative government. To be clear, we demand these principals out of our elected leaders. Blaine is a strong and resilient community, and the voice of the people is finally being heard. 

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A message to city council members: The truth shall prevail. #2WeeksIn #RepresentitiveGovernment #NoStoneUnturned 

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Suggested correction to the Northern Light’s reporting: You stated that council "attempted to limit two speakers' testimony". In fact, council only limited one and let the second proceed unencumbered. You then implied that Becht was escorted by police for not staying on topic. You should to be clear that he was warned, but allowed to finish his allocated 5 minutes, off topic session (see audio), and only was kindly escorted away from the podium long after the timer expired. But thank you for all of the great quotes from city council that our team has used during this two week process. It wasn’t surprising at all that city council didn’t give any comments after the meeting. It’s a sign that change is happening now. 

 

The Professor

Seeker of Truth (and equal justice)

Mayor Changes Rules Mid Meeting

Mayor's Move to Ban Ceding of Public Comment Time Draws Concerns 

BLAINE, WA:  At the last Blaine city council meeting on 10-23-23,  Mayor Mary Lou Steward changed the rules which may have a disproportionate impact on some of her citizens. In previous city council meetings, audience members were permitted to cede one's minutes to another speaker on the subject. At this meeting, the mayor boldly stated that, "there will be no more ceding of minutes." In addition, she spent over half a minute threatening the voters that she could call them out of order and they may be asked to leave. City council was also given the same authority over the citizens. The power dynamic was palpable and completely imbalanced. Citizens shifted uncomfortably in their seats. To hear these moments, the audio tracks are included below.

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With the tone of the audio in mind, imagine the atmosphere that is created, and how it makes the more timid or anxious members of the audience feel like maybe they should just keep quiet.

 

The implications of this newly announced rule could be staggering. This decision has raised concerns about its potential impact on public discourse. The best speakers can no longer get more minutes from their more timid speakers and be the chosen voice of the people. Many of the citizens in the past have given their minutes to someone else because they were not comfortable speaking publicly (including The Professor). This still gave the timid voters a unified voice that could be heard, often telling their chosen speaker the points that they would like to add.

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Under the newly found rules, has the mayor disproportionately affected those who may be less comfortable speaking in public? The new rules may favor the bold, boisterous, and those comfortable standing in front of a crowd. For the more timid speaker, the room does not seem inviting. It has the feel of a courtroom setting complete with seven supreme court justices staring down from above, along with the police and all of their multitudes of support staff surrounding them. This move by the mayor might only serve to further disenfranchise those who are already marginalized and may send a message that their voice is not as important as others.

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In a fair democracy, isn't it important to hear all opinions, not just the ones comfortable in that setting? If the mayor is allowed to abruptly change meeting rules like this, will it effectively silence dissent and intimidate marginalized voices?  Isn't our collective voice the very foundation of our democracy? As an aside, it was this decision by the mayor that started this grass roots movement.

 

This sudden switch of the rules brings up serious concerns and questions that we must hold our leaders to task on. If a local mayor can change rules mid-stream what form of democracy do we have in Blaine? Is this a move to help reduce the time that citizens can speak? Is this a move to intimidate the audience with threats and new rules so many people simply have no voice? What happens to the people who have no one to speak on their behalf? Is city council sending a message that if you aren't in the rare percentage of people who wish to be in the spotlight of political theater, then there is no place for you in this process? Is the Blaine city council little by little eroding the cornerstones of our democracy? What will be next? You don't have to wait long...the Mayor's antics will be on full display again on Monday night! Come join the party - just don't offend her.

Rule Change
All Powerful
Titles Are Important

Live "Election" Coverage

*****Breaking*****

We are Calling it Here First

Satirical Look at a Fictitious Blaine "Election"

In a stunning turn of events, we are the first to report that Mobile Home Mary, in a hotly contested election, has been re-elected as your next mayor! Ballot counters worked through the night to count and recount...(the math went something like this: 0+1 = 1). Apparently, Mobile Home Mary made a last minute decision that cinched the election. She changed the city code which invalidated her opponents attempts at running against her. Her one supporter was quoted as saying, "Brilliant move - nobody even knows what's going on here." She then stepped away from the mirror to join her party. 

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CFBB (Citizens for a Better Blaine) tried to contact her opponents, but apparently there were none. We then looked for supporters for comment, but that was a goose-egg too. Nonetheless, Mobile Home Mary was quick to point out that the election was valid, and that if kids can receive participation medals and feel like winners, so can she. In a race of one, she obliterated the competition in a landslide event. 

 

We tried to reach out to Council Member Rhyan (No Comment) Lopez, but he wasn't available. Show-Me-The-Money-Mike was at the cash register counting the campaign contributions, most of which, according to "Money Mike", came from an "anonymous" donor. Her biggest supporter, the anonymous donor, unveiled the newly created "Mobile Home Mary Rock Quarry." There were some questions as to the legitimacy of the donations, but the citizens have learned not to question Mobile Home Mary. She is the final word.

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In her victory speech she was quick to praise her (non existent) opponents. She thanked everyone for braving long, long voting lines and kindly reminded them to address her by her appropriate title: "Mobile Home Mary." She quipped, "Call me MHM!" The crowd roared, and her opponents seemed defeated. Capping off the night of celebrations, Richard (flip-flop) May took the microphone - then changed his mind. The other three council members were no-shows, but apparently that's how Blaine politics work! MHM took the microphone from flip-flop May and went on to describe how her first action as mayor was to silence her opponents with rules of decorum. It didn't take long for her to realize that there were none, but she wasn't deterred. She said, "Blaine has spoken, the PEOPLE have spoken, and let's stop wasting time!" She dropped the mic and the celebrations started.

 

At the end of the night, Show-Me-The-Money-Mike was seen lighting a celebratory bonfire with hundred dollar bills. He was quoted as saying: "Money ain't everything, but I've got it to BURN!"  One citizen was concerned that the noise might upset the community. In her final words of the night, however, MHM said, "Don't worry - I run this town!"

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We'll continue to update this story with live election results. Stay tuned!

The above is a satirical piece of a fictitious election in Blaine. For the real news, click on Document Dump 

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