Tuesday, March 24, 2009

St. John's municipal dancehall (3)

Just when you thought civilization had returned to the bunker on Gower, a racket breaks out (opens in Real Media).

According to multiple news reports, Councilor Galgay started taking more time than he should have while tabling a document when he was shouted down by Mayor Doc ("Guiding a great city") O'Keefe in concert with Councillor Keith ("Let's tax more") Coombs who chimed in at the top of his lungs because. . . well. . . just because he could.

What's the real problem here? It seems like they believe that time is in such short supply that if one councillor takes some time then that will leave too little time for other councillors to consume. And why do they all need all this time so badly that they will publicaly scrap over it like hungry dogs after a bone? The answer lies in the simple truth that this is an election year and they are all very touchy about making sure that no councillor takes any more time than any other.

Fear for your position makes grown people do silly things.

See also posts on Municipal Dancehall 1 and 2.


1 comment:

Jeff said...

If a private member's motion has too many whereases and therefore be it resolves, there are mutterings and murmurs of discontent. So it's not just election intemperance; it's simply that people are being asked to consider something that sounds too complicated what with all those clauses. (Never mind that it's generally not a complex matter.)

Jeff