Up Against Council Cont...
We also saw the “Oath Form.” This form was given to all who wanted to address the Council. You didn’t fill out a form; you didn’t get a chance to speak - so much for free speech. This group has a lot to learn about public relations. We think the form (essentially an oath to tell the truth as you give, “testimony”) was given to residents because the Council expects a law suit and wanted protection. This wasn’t a court hearing.
We also saw traditional tactics designed to display this Council’s desire to consistently remind the public that it (the Council) has all the power in this town. It was obvious that it was intent on not giving any response to comments at all. That’s okay – that was a given, and most residents expected it. However, Mayor Williams didn’t totally stick to that goal. Knowing that this is an emotionally charged issue but not caring, Mr. Williams went ahead and delivered several angry and disrespectful outbursts as he responded to the occasional clapping and cheering from the audience. It’s true that the Mayor must conduct an orderly meeting, but there are many ways to control a crowd without looking down your nose at them, and Williams doesn’t seem to know what those ways are. Chastising people as if they were children is no way to win friends - or votes. It’s likely that many residents will remember his outbursts the next time he’s up for re-election. We suspect that he has a hard time disengaging himself from his police officer role. Maybe he’ll work on that.
This is America, and in this country people are competitive, all the way from our Little League games to the Super Bowl. I compare this to a sporting event, because the Council has set up that type of environment. Both sides have developed an “us against them” mentality. The Council sees the public as the enemy, and the Public, for the most part, sees the Council the same way.
After the show was over, it became clear that SAD 7, as it’s proposed now, is in trouble. People are starting to see that road paving will help the city more than the citizens, and not because it will stop flooding. Paving will make the city more marketable because it will improve the “look and feel” of the area – or at least that’s the way the Council sees it. The areas in question were once in the rural part of town – on the outskirts and out of sight. Now that the city is developing and moving out to that area with its new downtown location, it’s no longer cool to have dirt roads all around. It’s obvious the city sees the paving project as a windfall for them, since paving will “clean up” the area and make it look more respectable in their eyes. The problem is they want you to pay for it. Pretty sweet eh?
The flooding problem and its related financial issues can be taken care of in other ways, such as the acquisition of state and/or federal funds. It was stated that the City of Albuquerque has just acquired forty-two million dollars for drainage projects. It makes you wonder why Rio Rancho isn’t making the same effort. It’s time for change.
We have no doubt that the citizens of Rio Rancho will keep the pressure on the Council to come up with a better solution than the one they have proposed. The Council has to actually put some work into this. It might be that they have for so long enjoyed a sweet deal. When you have had nothing but developers knocking down your door for years begging to give you money, coupled with a great economy and explosive growth, it’s easy to be a City Councilor. Everybody loves the job you’re doing, and you’re in the spotlight taking credit for it all. Times have changed. We’re facing a downturn in the real estate market, the dollar doesn’t buy as much as it did a few months back, and even jobs are being affected. It’s getting tougher being a Councilor. Maybe what this town needs is a fresh Council that’s prepared to deal with the new and challenging issues ahead.