By Staff
Dowagiac's dogged critics suggest Mayor Don Lyons' decision to not appoint Howard Hall, his unsuccessful 2005 opponent, to the Parks and Recreation Board smacks of "discrimination." We disagree. It's a political determination, pure and simple. Would you expect George W. Bush to add John Kerry to his Cabinet? Of course not.
More problematic is the idea of singling out one citizen and treating him differently. On that point the city's footing is less firm. Either an appointment candidate must submit a resume or not, but whatever rules apply, they must be applied consistently and fairly across the board.
This is the second time one personality defined public policy for all Dowagiac denizens. The lack of outcry last year still seems surprising.
Perhaps the irony will be lost on the mayor, but after his November 1997 election as our 47th CEO, one of his first actions rolled back policies similar to those resurrected during his second term.
At his first full meeting Dec. 1, 1997, Lyons introduced sweeping changes to make City Hall more transparent, changing the night council meets so as not to conflict with school board, scrapping the practice of requiring citizens to register ahead of the night of the meeting to address council on a non-agenda item and bringing pre-meeting briefings out of the city manager's office and into public view. Citizens could address council on agenda and non-agenda items alike.
Dowagiac went backward with the policy instituted Aug. 8, 2005, requiring questions about non-agenda items for the mayor, council members or city administration be presented in writing to City Clerk James E. Snow by noon on the Friday prior to the council meeting to allow sufficient time to prepare a response in advance of Monday meetings.
For the first time, "The mayor, City Council and city administration reserve the right not to answer those questions that are deemed to be frivolous, repetitious or politically motivated."
Vigorous debate on issues whose outcomes affect everyone is routine in most towns. It's hard to say why Dowagiac citizens seem so complacent or reluctant to share their views.
City supporters would surely say it's because of the superb job the administration and council do – and that's probably true to a point. The number of devoted critics is small and hasn't grown much.
Incumbents routinely return to office. And passion flickers when an issue engages the electorate, whether affirming an elected clerk and treasurer over appointed officials in the 1980s or resounding rejection of the rental inspection ordinance in November 2003. Interestingly, while 28 percent of Dowagiac voters defeated the controversial measure by a three-to-one margin, they re-elected all three incumbents.
Sometimes Mr. Hall might do well to remember the old adage about catching more flies with honey than vinegar.
There are other, often more effective, albeit less visible, ways to advocate for change than constantly creating confrontation. On the other hand, he brought some issues to light, such as downtown cameras.
While Hall continues to campaign for youth activities, others seem farther along the road to actual results.
We understand, for example, that one idea spawned by the Police Department's gang meeting May 30 is for a number of churches to each sponsor a Police Athletic League program.
While this remains in the formative stages, it sounds like a creative way for PAL to cost-effectively broaden programming.
We particularly agreed with Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church's pastor, the Rev. Kevin Mitchell, when he commented last spring that it's school officials' task to teach in a safe environment, but "it's not their job to raise your child. They cannot raise my son. That's my job."
Indeed, when did entertaining youth become City Hall's primary responsibility?
There are many more things for young people to do than critics acknowledge, and if there need to be more, parents should step forward and help provide them – not lateral responsibility to government.
Ultimately, a free exchange of competing ideas strengthens the community. Just as physical fitness requires exercise, American democracy demands a diversity of the people's voices – not atrophied vocal chords.