Dr. Carl Mumpower walked out on Asheville City Council again tonight. Brownie Newman wished council to consider a draft he had prepared. He claimed to have sent it to all media outlets that morning, so it wasn’t secretive. Most newspapers will do a special run in the afternoon for things like this, right? I’ve covered the city council beat for the alternative local press for about five years, but that did not qualify me to receive a copy. Newman assured the audience changes from a formerly published draft were minor, as with the underlined portion and the third bullet.
Are you following me? Mumpower repeatedly called, “Point of order,†and the mayor eventually gaveled him down. He asked the city attorney what he could do, and was told the mayor decided Newman had the floor, and the subject matter did not deviate substantially from the material on the posted agenda. Mumpower said had he known the item was going to be on the agenda, he would have prepared a counterpoint.
I tend to agree with Mumpower. If council is going to vote, I like to read the material and have an opportunity to email my concerns to members of city council and political activists. The subject pertained to a compromise on the Sullivan acts. Again, I agree with Mumpower that the legislature has treated Asheville unfairly, and groveling for anything short of justice wouldn’t be right.
