We Write Letters

Update: Video Clip added 5/18/12, 11 am

Ideally, well composed commentaries and letters like this one will be seen in many different venues.  In the event that an Encinitas voter doesn't read the Coast News paper or hasn't paid the online fee to read these citizen-generated pieces, this blog might be the place a connection is made.   For that reason we are advocating redundancy.  Good stuff shouldn't go unread. 

Message from the Mayor: ‘Your input is unwelcome and irrelevant’ 
By C.J. Minster May 14, 2012

Once again the mayor of Encinitas has demonstrated his disdain for what you, as citizens of Encinitas, have to say.

At the May 9 Council meeting, a resident requested a revision to the April 18 Minutes (not yet approved and posted) to reflect more accurately the main point of a statement she had made during Oral Communications.

Mayor Stocks, in his usual snarky tone, stated that the topics of the presentations should not have been in the Minutes at all, and that the City Clerk had erred by including them. He said that it is Council policy to have “action” minutes that only state who spoke during Oral Communications, but not what they spoke about. He said, “I’m not sure when we got away from that.” He went on to say, “There is absolutely no reason to take up what they addressed.” Video Link

Mayor Stocks’ statement indicates the following:

• He must not be reading the Minutes (even though Council must approve all minutes before they are posted) for, in fact, all Minutes for regular Council meetings from at least 2002 up to the present briefly describe what each person addressing Council during Oral Communications spoke about.

• Underlying his stance against including brief documentation of what citizens take time and effort to present is a message to the public that our input to the City is unwelcome, unimportant, has no relevance to what Council should consider or not consider, and is best forgotten.

But this time Mayor Stocks wasn’t able to rally support around his position. Council voted to put a discussion of this topic on a future Council agenda. Mayor Stocks was the only council member who voted against doing so (Jim Bond was absent).

Mayor Stocks, we get your message loud and clear, but we’re not buying it. And, we have a message for you: “You aren’t our king, and this City is not your realm.” Fortunately, we live in a democracy. Watch us vote you out in November!

Thanks to C.J. Miinster for this at the Coast News.

Update: Sorry for the oversight. Here is the full length video clip. Go to the 3 minute mark to capture the incident C.J. is writing about in her commentary.