I’ve been to many, many governing body meetings. Ten years of Council meetings as an elected official myself. Then there were the many years before and after my term of office. As a public information official, I attended county governing body meetings. I’d say I’ve easily attended over 700 governmental body meetings.
But not once, until April 22 at the Bastrop City Council meeting, have I ever seen the presiding official prohibit a member of the public from speaking. We didn’t have time limits on our speakers and some came to every meeting calling us out on our lack of action on this issue or that. Some were relentless, but we listened to them each time. We, after all, were their representatives, those they hoped could fix what they saw as problems in our town.
John Kirkland’s blatantly politically motivated actions last night were shocking. He was way out of line. His use of his position on the dais to silence a political opponent was a clear abuse of power. He should have allowed the former mayor to speak, thanked him for his comments, and moved on. But he didn’t. He rambled on about some illegality, about the former mayor not being able to speak because the vacancy hadn’t been filled. Ridiculous and wrong.
John Kirkland is blinded by his vendetta against Lyle Nelson. Kirkland, not some errant member of the public, circulated the petition to get rid of the mayor. Whether the former mayor was right or wrong in his actions isn’t the issue. He was never charged with a crime and was completely exonerated by the Council’s own investigator. Kirkland couldn’t wait to get him off the Council. Now, it seems, he is hell-bent on keeping him on.
Once the mayor resigned, Kirkland needed to move on. But he hasn’t. The former mayor, whether Kirkland likes it or not, is a citizen of the City. He has the legal right to speak at meetings, to call out actions of the City Council where he sees they need calling out.
What better person to raise issues than one who has been in the system? He has far more knowledge than most citizens. But that’s what makes him dangerous to Kirkland and his ilk. That’s why he’s a threat. He knows the game. He knows the players.
Kirkland’s actions last night were offensive to a free people living in a representative republic with a constitutional right of redress of grievances. They were a vicious attack on government of the people, by the people and for the people. If Kirkland can’t handle the heat, which he apparently cannot, he should get out of the kitchen.