“When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan.” – Proverbs 29:2
You, as council members, were elected to represent ALL of our citizens. That does not make you autonomous. That does not give you unlimited power. On the contrary, it limits your power. It makes you RESPONSIBLE to EVERYONE, here in our community.
In the bio of Councilman Alex Burton (D) it says, and I quote: “Alex believes that the future of this city is dependent upon the choices made in the next few years, and his involvements put him in the right position to not only serve, but lead and ensure EVERY resident believes that “E” is for EVERYONE.”
In a January council meeting, Council President Ron Beane (R?) said: “…in my heart I know ALL of us are here because we want the best for Evansville…”
So, I must ask; Is it the best for Evansville if you silence the voice of two council members and their constituents by changing the Council Rules (G-2021-12) to insisting on 3 sponsors (in a Democrat majority council) to be able to discuss a new resolution?
(As reported in the previous VIP article here, while there are six Democrats and three Republicans, only two of those Republicans are true conservatives on the Evansville City Council, and passing this rule change would completely and effectively silence the conservative minority voice on the council.)
Our EVSC School Board now denies citizens access to the podium for public comment (unless such comment is specific to individual agenda items), giving only what they call a town hall, which is a one-on-one conversation with an individual board member and not the whole board. There is NO option for all Board members and the public to have opportunity to witness all questions and statements, and thus is a form of censorship! ALL parents and taxpayers should have a voice and be able to hear discussion and answers from these meetings.
At a time when crime, Covid, drugs, and human trafficking are coming across our southern border, crime is rampant in most of our large, liberal cities, our national debt is bankrupting our future generations, inflation is sky-rocketing, and Americans are stranded in Afghanistan and left to die… at a time when division is running rampant in our country and your role as a public servant is to listen to the taxpayers on how to accomplish what is best for Evansville… don’t you think we should be OPEN to ALL ideas, ALL opinions, here in Evansville to keep our great city great for EVERYONE? Don’t you think silencing the minority voice on the council is silencing some of your own constituents?
I am now asking you to do the RIGHT thing. Do NOT ignore, do NOT silence opposing voices! That’s not Democracy. That’s tyranny. Please vote NO on this proposal.
Thank you,
Kat Molloy
Indiana Constitutional Women of Vanderburgh County
P. C., Center Township, 4th Precinct
The Evansville City Council will discuss the G-2021-12 proposal this evening at 5:30pm in room 301 of the Civic Center downtown.
UPDATE: As anticipated, the September 13th Evansville City Council “Change in Rules Proposal” (G-2021-12) passed with a vote of seven-to-two, with the two members who voted against being the conservative minority – Justin Elpers (R – Ward 5) and Jonathan Weaver (R – At-Large).
However, before the vote, Councilwoman Missy Mosby (D – Ward 2) introduced an amendment which struck the words “general ordinance” from the proposal but left “resolutions” within. The council attorney Joshua Claybourn discussed that most resolutions are “non-binding” which means that there would be no required enforcement of passed resolutions.
Oftentimes, resolutions are made to communicate a city’s stance on an issue… but they have the potential to pave the way for similar “binding” ordinances to be passed in the future due to an already established legislative precedent.
