Moderation
- I thought that the moderator did a good job in his breakdown of the time allowed for each of the three issues.
- However, he was a tad too under-spoken, oftentimes letting people ramble on over him or ignore what he had said.
- His explanations and preparation were excellent, and overall he did a good job.
Participation
- It was good to see a decent number of people at this meeting, however, the auditorium was not close to half full.
- There definitely appeared to be less COGers than other citizens.
- For the most part, this meeting was VERY civil, and there were not many negative personal comments.
- Even though commenters were given a generous limit of 5 minutes, the entire allotted time was rarely used by anyone - only maybe one or two speakers came close.
- The one exception being the author of the COG site.
COGers
- For the most part, the COGers were certainly outnumbered
- However, Gary Lopez (of COG fame) thought he was entitled to speak whenever he pleased, however he pleased and for as long as he pleased, regardless of what the Moderator said.
- The other COG supporters (including Mr. Julius) made their points well, without breaking rules.
Access
- For those of us unfamiliar with the High School, finding the Knight Auditorium proved to be a challenge, and there was no signage telling us where to go.
- While there were some people recording the meeting on their own, I do not believe that this was recorded for television on Channel 18. Maybe I am incorrect about that, but the meeting certainly should have been either aired live on TV or recorded.
- If anyone has a copy of any video of this meeting, or knows that the town DID in fact record the meeting, please let me know.
Overall
- As I have said, this seemed to be more of an inquisition where the COGers thought they would have two hours to grill the Councilors however they felt.
- The Moderator correctly allowed town officials to answer the charges the original (and invalid) petition laid against the town, before allowing public comment on each issue.
- The Moderator allowed the most time (about 1 hour) for discussion of Issue #1 - Split Tax, a little less time for the Greg Milne legal fees issue (about 40 min), and the least amount of time to the final (and already resolved) shellfish issue (about 20 min). This was a very good distribution of time, and mirrored the interest of those attending the meeting.
- Very little was accomplished at this meeting, except more discussion of these issues. However, I thought the Council did a good job of explaining their point of view, as did all parties speaking tonight.
- It was nice to have a pretty civil political debate in Barnstable, for once.
14 comments:
GREAT JOB LOPEZ!!! The heat generated from the COG forced town leaders and many of the bigger business owners in town out to show how scared they are about the very real possibility of having to pay their fair share of taxes. Joakim was visibly uncomfortable, and if not for Gilmore she would have cracked in half. No sign of the loudmouth bloggers who have so much to say but nothing to back it up with. This meeting was purely blog generated, and was a successful test of the power of the blogs, and validation that our form of government desperately needs to be restructured!
yikes- was that person from 10:14 pm at the same meeting?
We sat quietly and listened and saw a small group of people who thought they could generate a crowd to pound away at the council, alas just a small group of complainers.
We sat in the back and saw and hear a lot of people who are disgusted with COG and Lopez.
He demostrated why he chooses to sit behind a computer. We couldn't understand him, he wasn't making any sense and kept jumping from one thing to another.
Now, maybe he will shut down his blog. He has been going way to far lately.
I think most people who actually give it some thought in their daily lives actually think our town government is doing ok. The group that wants us to thinkt they are all corrupt have their own obvious issues now that they have been seen in the light.
GREAT JOB LOPEZ??? At what, making an incoherent fool of himself? The dominant mood in the room was mild annoyance with what turned out to be largely a waste of time. Business interests easily contolled the proceedings. If another meeting is attempted, they have ample reserves of supporters to neutralize their opposition Based on this event there will never be another split tax employed in town. Folks should also get very comfortable with a future with no mayor and fifteen precincts.
The meeting accomplished just what it set out to do, and you will all see those results if/when certain councilors run for re-election. Lopez writes better than he talks, but either way, he is a force to be reckoned with. I personally find him hilarious either way. You guys need to get a sense of humor and perhaps a bigger world view.
Lopez is in fact hilarious, in the sense of being ripe for derision.
YOu focus too much on the messenger. Most people pay more attention to the message. GROW UP!
Lopez got 350 hits a day when he was closed. He has been getting close to a thousand since he reopened the comments. There is a reason the guy has such a large readership, and all other blogs are distant placers. The guy is smart, funny, and a character. History is filled with colorful activists who made significant change by speaking out. The purpose of the meeting was to get councilors to go on record for the reasons they voted a particular way on the split tax and shellfish zoning ordinance, and to ask where in the charter it defines the charter commission as an elected office. These issues were aired, and now the voters can decide for themselves at the ballot box when councilors try to get re-elected, if they cared for the answers. I gotta give the guy credit - he made something happen that has never been done before, and there is a certain power in being able to force officials to talk when they clearly do not want to!
The Meeting didn't accomplished anything other than to have a bunch of people repeat what has already be said before. This event was about as important as a bake sale, only at least with that you get a snack to bring home. The cries of "wait till November" ring more hollow now than ever before.
Also, the Wizard of COG is entertaining, if you enjoy defamation of character and misinformation; his website is the equivilent of the National Enquirer...all that is missing is the claim that Bigfoot hidden in the basement of Town Hall, guarding the stolen ballots that would have put his JESTER on the Charter Commission.
That might be true in the case of councilors like Crocker, Barton, Tobey, and others, but you can stick a fork in Janet Joakim - she is cooked!
Hey coddah - Why do you suppose Lopez leaves all other bloggers in the dust in the Barnstable blogosphere? If he was as crazy and full of crap as you and yours like to say, why do town councilors and folks from all over the country read AND POST on his blog? He regularly communicates with at least three town councilors, and has had personal dealings with just about every individual having anything to do with local government. I am not saying the guy is a god or anything, but at least he does not go around bouncing checks and getting involved in neighborhood disputes!
Thank you for your comments Taryn.
Please take them somewhere else.
Anon,
Why do people read the Herald instead of the Globe? Why are the supermarkets full of tabloids? Why do people take Rush Limbaugh seriously? Why do drug manufacturers promote their wares in flashy commercials on TV, and slip in the minor sides effects ("brain damage, paralysis, and death in a small percentage of users") knowing that people will disregard them?
We are a nation of people who are more interested slogans than discussions, simple (and imcomplete) solutions over informed (and lengthy) debate.
It is easy to get folks to buy what you are selling, no matter how bad it is, if you just make it enticing enough. Remember, there are still people out there who drink Moxie.
The Wizard of COG is a source of entertainment to many, a source of information to a few, and a source of concern to the wise. I have first hand knowledge of many of the things on which he has reported, and he gets many facts wrong, and twists many others. His worst aspect is the character assassination he revels in.
I too want to see changes in local government, but I think it is dispicable to defame people just because they don't do what you want. Don't be so gullible to confuse mud-slinging with muckraking. Lincoln Steffens the Wizard ain't.
Gary Lopez is a buffoon. And Moxie rocks.
If Lopez "leaves other blogs in the dust" it's because he is a daily train wreck with all the blood and gore people don't want to look at but still do.
He also sends his posts out in emails to people whether they want them or not. Mostly though his stats reflect all of the people with too much time on their hands who enjoy the opportunity to trash people anonymously and visit his blog multiple times a day.
Lopez spends more time creating his posts because he has more time. Watching him speak it must take him a while to organize his thoughts in writing. He has more time than most working or not because he doesn't DO anything else.
Post a Comment