From Musical Chairs to Pin the Tail on the Donkey-The party continues
If I may, let me start off right were I ended last night…….
We are escorted upstairs in an elevator, packed to bursting. Once off the elevator, we stand in line to have our coats and bags examined,to be scanned by a metal detector and frisked by a police officer.
Once inside the chambers, we are able to listen as a small portion of the public is allowed to speak. Here are a few snippets: (paraphrasing, to some extent)
Rick Dollinger: Public’s confidence will be lost. Those who have done this thing today aught to be ashamed.
Linda Garner Goldstein: Those, on the other side of the room, who think that this public outcry is a partisan trick by the Democrats, both overestimate the Democrats and underestimate the public. This is a great “Grassroots” effort.
(It is at this point that Jon Greenbaum is escorted out, shouting, “I’m being arrested for taking pictures!”)
Brian Hetherington: No one wins with this closed door process. No one! Not the public, not the legislature, not the new Public Defender, not the people who put this process in place!
Rev. Gordon Webster: The Public Defender selection requires mutual respect. This is not in place here.
Willa Powel: Any candidate, offered this position, would be well served to refuse the job. The credibility that comes from this process is zilch!
Mary Adams: The crowd, waiting downstairs deserves to be heard.
Andrew Brown: (President, elect of the Monroe County Bar Association) I am compelled to speak to the situation downstairs. I stood downstairs for the last 2 hours. There were no more than 40 people in this room while I was standing down there. Why were we not allowed up? I would like to clear up misstatements about the Bar Association: The Bar Assoc. has never advocated taking control , or obstructing, or politicizing the process. It has done just the opposite in offering to assist the county leg, as the Bar Assoc understands justice, criminal justice and lack of justice. We asked that the process be impartial, diverse, non-partisan and apolitical. Our position is clear. We ask you to consider this action. We have not been obstructionist.
This is the end of the public speaking. I will continue later, as time allows and you will hear from the Legislators, themselves. The party continues……
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Submitted by Sandra Frankel, Supervisor of the Town of Brighton, February 13, 2008:
I’m sorry that your reporter missed my comments at the February 12th meeting of the Monroe County Legislature, which came before those included in the Rochester Turning report. I’d like to add my remarks to the record of Rochester Turning:
“I had planned on talking about my objections to the selection process for the Public Defender and the importance of an open, non-partisan, inclusive process for justice and equality, and the need to start over; however, given the circumstances surrounding tonight’s meeting, I must instead speak about the travesty of democracy that we are experiencing here in Monroe County and by Monroe County government tonight. This is the worst that I’ve ever seen during my 30-plus years in Rochester.
“Tonight’s meeting is an open, public meeting that the public has a right to attend, yet you have shut out the very people who have a vested interest in the matter, and have made the good people of this community wait outside in the freezing cold. In fact, I’m feeling a little frost bite myself.
By closing the doors, you have violated the most fundamental tenant of democracy, the right of the people to attend meetings of their government. You have the right and responsibility to appoint the next Public Defender, whatever that decision may be, but the people have a right to have their voices heard and to be present during the debate and decision making.
“I grew up in the segregated South, and tonight’s actions reminded me of the terrible policies and practices that existed before the Civil Rights Law of 1964 passed, and of the despicable attitudes that led to the actions of Bull Connors. Tonight’s actions also reminded me of the style of government practiced in the former Soviet Union. Your egregious actions against the people must stop.
“You have given Monroe County a black eye. I am angry, embarrassed for our community, and disappointed in the actions of the legislative majority and county executive; and you should be ashamed of yourselves. â€ÂÂ
Further observations of the meeting :
Some people were confined to a small area of the County Office Building lobby under guard, and the fire code was cited as the reason for allowing so few inside, despite the fact that most of the lobby area remained unused. Many others were kept outside. For a while one-for-one exchanges were permitted, but then even that ceased. Once people left the lobby, they were not permitted to return. During this time, Channel 8 was not permitted to enter the building, despite the fact that other media outlets were reportedly present in the Legislative Chambers.
Some people were removed by force from the Legislative Chambers, and Sister Grace was arrested.
I noticed that seating had been removed from the public area of the County Legislative Chamber, and that the occupancy of the room had been reduced from 185 to 75 since last Saturday. If 185 people had met the fire code requirements then and for a very long time before that, then the limit of 75 people was simply a tactical device to keep the public out. When I pointed this out to Jon Greenbaum of Metro Justice, he quietly began to photograph the occupancy sign, which resulted in his forcible removal from the chambers by the guards. Can’t the public take photographs in the County Legislative Chamber during an open meeting?
The entire evening smacked of racism and bigotry against African Americans and the poor. What is the County Legislature majority afraid? They have had packed audiences in the past on other issues and have not resorted to such extreme measures. From my point of view, they have shown their true colors, and we must continue the fight for free and open government that represents the people, not political patronage or privilege.
Welcome Sandy!
Thanks so much for giving us your view. You’re absolutely right. This was all about racism. I was embarrassed for the Republican Majority.I had hoped that one would step forward an decry this outrage, but they HAVE shown their true colors-and that starts with their black hearts.
OK - So the public agrees that this is illegal. The elected’s agree that this is illegal. The next stop on this bus is “What are we going to do about it”?
Complaining is one thing - we need to bring this national and let them know that this WILL NOT be the way they will treat OUR community.
I would like to know from the elected’s: Can this administration be removed from office for multiple violations of law? Multiple violations of multiple classes of law including constitutional, civil, state, local and more?
I know everyone thinks it’s wrong - but I want to SEE someone STOP this now. Someone needs to stand up to the plate and the rest of us will follow in line.
Now I ask again - where is our HERO? David Gantt is trying - but we need more. The racist attitudes of the GOP are trying to paint a different picture here than the truth.
WHAT - elected’s - are we going to DO?
[...] There are only 14 of them. There should be more, but as others have stated in the comments of my last 2 posts, that ship has sailed and laying blame at any one individual’s feet is [...]
I don’t know if Sandra Frankel heard the cynical comments directed at her by Dan “The best defense is a good offense and no, I’m not a lizard” Quatro, about how this was partisan because she, Rick Dollinger and Willa Powell all spoke. So let’s see, when community leaders speak out about the things that led them to want to be community leaders, it’s not leadership, it’s partisan.
[...] to Monroe County Republicans like little kids imitating the bad behavior of their parents, from the Public Defender race and class war to the attack on schools to the impending MCC coronation. It has crept up on [...]
[...] about the merits of open government, something that is very much on our minds in the wake of the closed county lej meeting on the public defender last [...]
[...] would explicitly allow someone like, say, Jon Greenbaum, who got dragged out of Tuesday’s County Leg police state meeting for taking pictures, to take them. (Although, it seems anti-democratic in the first place to not allow a citizen to [...]
[...] any violence that might erupt as a result of the swarms of citizens (many African Americans) trying to exercise their right to assemble and peacefully protest the closed door selection process. Assembly member, David Gannt, was [...]