Pages

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

It's time to speak litely and carry a big stick.


Today was my first City of Deerfield Beach Commission meeting and I must say that at the very least it was interesting.  I can see why many people do not regularly attend them as this meeting was very boring.  However, because I know that it is a necessity that all Americans participate in government and that participation should start at the municipal level.  So I stayed awake and remained attentive.   

I sat and I listened to individuals give presentations, I watched the induction ceremony of the two re-elected Commissioners, Poitier and Miller, and I paid close attention to the demeanour of the other commissioners as each took turns to speak.  What I focused on however, was the feeling I got of total disgust as I watched Commissioner Ganz give Commissioner Poitier the evil-eye every chance he got.  I watched as he damn near yawned every time she or Commissioner Miller spoke.  Who does this guy think he is?  I don’t know, but something tells me he will find out what I think very soon and it may not be pretty.  Anyway, I also noticed that there were several noticeably absent individuals, namely Ben Preston and Beulah Hill, who I guess are home tending their wounds from last week’s election defeat.  But, I digress.

Commissioner Miller tried to set the tone for the meeting by reiterating his campaign message of unity and peace among the Commissioners and the City in general by saying “It’s not them against us, or them against me. It’s all of us together in this economy trying to move forward with reduced revenues”.  No truer sentiment has ever been spoken, well at least not in those chambers.  But how would I know because it was my first time there and I was very proud to hear someone address our city’s unity concerns. (WTG, Joe Miller)

So, Commissioner Poitier spoke and it was the usual platitudes, but during the course of the meeting she addressed the Commissioners and stated her feelings about that “Politician Slayer” or how he is more fondly known in District 2 “He who shall not be named”.  She stated that she believed that he  started “a personal attack” that is ruining her character.  She went on to say that “either he will have to call for a showdown” or she’ll “have to file a lawsuit”.  I personally would love to see a showdown between these two, but being realistic a lawsuit would be great.  Maybe then he will be more objective in his reporting.  She asked the City Attorney about the legal avenues available to her to get “He who should not be named” to stop his personal vendetta against her from playing out on his blog.  She went on to continue the theme of unity by pointing out that when “He who should not be named” cyber attacked another elected official down in Hallandale, the Commissioners there rallied together, as a united front, and got him to stop.  Boy, this unity concept keeps rearing it’s little head, huh.

After, Commissioner Poitier was finished addressing the board, Commissioner Ganz took the floor and he told us about an idea that he had that had come to fruition in the city.  He had organized a new website for the city and phone bank where people could call and get frequently asked questions answered and or be referred to the individuals who could answer them.  Soooo, the city has money to start up another website and create a phone bank to do the same job that is already being done by the current website and other city employees right now????  Geez, I thought the City was under financial strain, so much so that they laid off 106 individuals who kept the city clean…I sincerely hope some of those individuals were asked to fill the jobs created by this new development of Ganz’s.  Somehow I doubt it, though.

So, at this point in the meeting the Mayor Noland opened the floor up to the public and I was unsure who could speak, but I was dying to get up there and address them.  So, I asked around and found out that anyone could speak.  Oh, why did they tell me that and I get three minutes to lay in to them.  Oh, yeah!!!  So I waited for an opening and I jumped up and walked up to the mike.  I first started off by advising them that this was my first time at a meeting and that I was grateful to Commissioner Poitier for energizing me to get involved.  I then proceeded to tell them how I was disappointed in them because they were always talking about “UNITY” on the Board and in the City and yet none of them seemed to want to come to the aid of their fellow commissioner when it came down to her personal issue with “He whjo should be named”.  I pointed out to Mayor Noland that he had written about her too and that if I took the opportunity right here on this very blog to expound on his thoughts about her, she would want her colleagues to rally around her.  I further pointed out that we, the youthful, need to be more involved and that I was working with others to try and make that a reality here in Deerfield Beach.  Now, they seemed receptive to this idea, but hey we’ll see.

So, I have begun my journey to better myself and my community by becoming a voice for my generation.  I hope that those under 40 that are reading this realize that we need to put down the X-Box controllers and step away from our laptops long enough to get involved with our communities and begin the passing of the torches.  We are the future and that future is here and now.  It’s ours to make or break!

P.S.

To the lovely silver-haired gentlemen who stated that Blacks need to stop asking someone to write “our” history for us.  I have one thing to say to you, my good sir. 

Challenge Accepted!! 

1 comment:

  1. Well said David. Yes I too agree with why many residents of the community dont show up to these long winded meetings. The behavior of our local elected officials are an embarrassment to the City of Deerfield Beach. I agree we (residents of Deerfield Beach) must come together and set the standards of UNITY.

    ReplyDelete

Everyone is welcome to comment, but all comments represent the views of the poster and not this site.