There’s a clip on YouTube (see below) of Asheville radio talk show host Matt Mittan being escorted from a city council meeting on June 12 for having the temerity to tell the council, “Shame on you for voting to disenfranchise 15,000 people.” I say that’s what caused his ejection because, well, that’s all he got out of his mouth before the Mayor Terry Bellamy sicced the cops on him.
Mittan was speaking against the council’s 4-3 vote to make city elections partisan. He referred to the ordinance as the “Democratic incumbent protection act” since Democrats outnumber Republicans in Asheville by a substantial margin. That being the case, you would think Bellamy and her cohorts would not worry about a person stating an opposing view. But, as you can see, the hook was out for Mittan from the moment he opened his mouth. It took Bellamy only 11 seconds to interrupt him, and she continued to speak over him until two burly cops arrived at the podium.
