To begin the festivities, the Council passed a resolution declaring all city officials "non-partisan," therefore eliminating party primaries. The resolution itself is somewhat unimportant--there are some positives to be gained by eliminating partisanship in the city. What is significant is that the Council (once again) rejected the rights of the people to voice their concerns. When Alderman Nutter motioned to schedule a public hearing on the resolution, the motion was rejected--the Council is scared of the people they represent and they do not want to hear from them!
At the end of the meeting, Mr. Nutter tried to question the Mayor about why she would not allow several private citizens to address the Council--several of his constituents had emailed her, asking to be on the agenda for the meeting, and their requests were denied. Before he finished his remarks (and before she answered his questions), Dixon motioned that the meeting be adjourned and it was seconded: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7UG7mfTzoI
At this point, Mr. Greg Niblock rushed to the front of the room and asked the Council to stay to hear his concerns. Steve Sterling, Jim Dixon, Dale English, and Mayor Laforce LEFT as Mr. Niblock presented "the case for liberty." The People had a meeting of their own. Next, Mr. Garret Myhan took to the podium to voice his concerns: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUZPHshBI3I
Tonight, The People made a stand. The People said no to oppression, no to suppression of ideas, no to tyranny. Tonight, we started to take our government back.
It is time to get this government back on track. It is time for transparency, accountability, and civility. Tonight was a great step in the right direction, but this is only the beginning. It is time to give the people back their government.
I will fight for The People's rights. I will fight to make this government accountable and responsive. It is time that the people rule.
