"Public" participation

Sent to Ms. NIRDLINGER today at the Town of Chapel Hill:

Dear. Ms. NIRDLINGER,

I did not attend the Council meeting Wednesday night, but I watched part of it on television.

You made a comment toward the end about how non-members of what I think is being oddly called the “compass” committee could express their views. If I heard you correctly, someone who attends one of the meetings will have an “opportunity” to say something “before” and “after” the meeting.

It probably stems from my career as a media lawyer advocating on behalf of the First Amendment….something stuck in my “craw” about your comments that suggested to me that the whole effort is far more about show and procedure than it is about discussion and debate.

My presumption – only that – is that what you meant is that the unwashed non-members of the “compass” committee will have a 3 minute opportunity at each meeting to spout off if they choose to do so. No discussion, no debate, just spouting.

I don’t know how you see things, but for me this is just fundamentally contrary to any reasonable commitment to discussion and debate as the tool that usually results in the best outcomes.

So I am writing to you before taking this to the Council to ask you to reconsider if it is indeed you who gets to decide this. You should allow anyone who attends one of these meetings to speak up and be recognized at any time and to fully participate in the discussion. If it results in an unruly meeting, or a longer one, so be it. Otherwise, this all looks like a production designed to deliver the developer what he wants rather than a good faith effort to express to the Town Council the many different and often competing views of the people who elect that Council and who hire you.

Thanks for considering this. Let me know what you decide to do.

Cheers,

Terry MAGUIRE