It’s been two weeks since the Lakeview crime summit. Has there been any progress? The Mayor has not reached out to either Freddy Yoder or Brian Anderson, who represent the Lakeview Crime Prevention District and the Lakeview Civic Improvement Association, put together that meeting trying to find solutions to make the city we call home a better place to live, work and raise our families. The Mayor was out of town but promised representation at the meeting; they didn’t show. The citizens had a host of questions for her administration that went answered.If the Mayor really cared, she would have reached out to Yoder and Anderson to have a conversation about what happened while she was out of town.
I understand she appeared on another radio show this morning and blamed the city council. If that’s the case, the council ought to begin to flex their muscles. As I’ve said before, if open and transparent communications about what’s going on in this city is ‘politicizing the issue,’ then politicize away! Bring it on! Back her into a corner and make her answer questions about why she hasn’t reached out to these people that organized a meeting with a thousand people about what’s happening in this city.Yoder and Anderson said today they are hoping this brings about resolutions to these experiences shared by all of us - your neighbors, your family, your friends throughout the city. And yet, the leader of our city has refused to reach out to this organization to discuss it. The truly sad part of this is that this Lakeview group put their money where their mouth is - they additionally taxed themselves to pay for enhanced security in their neighborhoods when the city couldn’t afford to do the same in the aftermath of Katrina.
It’s obvious that the Mayor’s ‘fair share’ motto applies only to her. It only applies when it benefits the Mayor. It’s only what she wants, when she wants it, and how she wants it. If it doesn’t work out that way, she’s going to blame someone else, either you, or the council, or some other elected official. Are we beginning to see a pattern here?
As it relates to her tax issue, she’s trying to make herself out as a victim. Did you make that money? Did you enjoy that income? And to try and conflate that with the city’s fines-and-fees amnesty program that she set up in the course of answering an investigative reporter’s questions is just about as dishonest and disingenuous a display as I’ve ever seen.
I said yesterday she’s in a political death spiral, and its obvious she is exacerbating that by going on the radio and is trying to blame the city council for violating confidences that she has shared in private conversations with them. I don’t know what she’s talking about, because I don't know what's been revealed that someone would have had to communicate in confidence!A bright light needs to shine here. Hopefully the council can continue to ask the tough questions about what’s being said and what’s being done in relation to Hard Rock and all the other issues facing us. These are legitimate questions about oversight that need to be made. What I’m seeing from the Mayor is a lot of smoke, and I hope the council doesn't fall for it. It’s time for the Mayor to stop with the smokescreens. Just get on doing your business, and put out an olive branch and start communicating with your constituents and other leaders!
