Perkins said part of the problem was that at-large Councilwoman Nancy Vaughan, who announced she will run against Perkins for mayor in the fall, tried to spin the situation to indicate that he was not in favor of the speakers from the floor portion as part of her bid for mayor. Vaughan could not immediately be reached for comment.
Perkins' primary concern is that certain people dominate the public comment period with repetitive statements at each meeting, adding that some people speak so regularly that residents have come to know them on a first name basis.
"Frankly, the concern I have
is that they are taking away from folks that really need our help," he said. "Some may want to come in
and don’t because they don’t want to be in middle of acrimonious discussion."
Perkins said he did not have any specific changes that he wanted council to consider but that the discussion was "a function of being practical." While the majority of council is also frustrated, he said, the mayor isn't sure the issue will be formally discussed. Perkins also emphasized that he is not supportive of putting the speakers from the floor at the end of the meeting, a move made by previous mayor Bill Knight that was reversed when Perkins took the helm.
Here's the full press release:
GREENSBORO, NC (April 26, 2013) – City of Greensboro Mayor Robbie Perkins has released the following statement regarding proposed changes to the speakers from the floor portion of City Council meetings:
However, the acrimony and repetitiveness displayed by some speakers has been a growing concern of mine. Moving forward, any proposed changes will be fully discussed and voted on by the entire City Council in an effort to hear the concerns of residents that need our assistance.”
6 comments:
The people reply.
What a dud.
If he'd lift a finger to address the issues people are bringing to the council, maybe they wouldn't keep coming back.
And let us not forget, for months on end, he was fine with the speakers. It wasn't until one called him a deadbeat that he became concerned.
What a self-absorbed, transparent dud.
Too funny! The Mayor's problem isn't me. The Mayor's problem is he said what he said. I'm glad he took this time to clarify his remarks. Perhaps now we can move on to something else.
Nancy, thanks for chiming in. Sorry I wasn't able to reach you in time and haven't had a chance to call you back yet. It was a busy Friday.
Eric, thanks for chiming in.
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