9/14/2010 Council Meeting Videos: Pope Asked to Resign

In This Edition:

9/14/2010 Council Meeting Videos: Pope Asked to Resign
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Below are three videos from the meeting. During that meeting, as seen in the first video below, Gary Dielman, representing several citizens who attended, and many more who did not, confronted Councilor Pope with his behavior on that night, when Mr. Pope chose to have a pizza and beer party with several former city officials who opposed the firing of former City Manager Steve Brocato, instead of attending to his duties at a Council meeting at which the Council was considering issues concerning the hiring of a new City Manager.

During the meeting of September 14, two City Councilors, and Mr. Dielman, asked Councilor Pope to resign.

Here are the three videos:
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This is part one (of three) videos from the meeting of September 14, 2010.

In this clip , Former Councilor, school teacher, probation department head, and my favorite Baker County historian, Gary Dielman, as a representative of several citizens, asks Council and Mr. Pope three questions:

1. "Why wasn't he there on the 24th of August" for important Council sessions?

2. "Why did Councilor Pope cross Washington Street from his [law] office and confront Chris Christie? and

3. Why did Councilor Pope think he had a right to straddle Chris Christie's front wheel of his bicycle, thereby detaining him, making him a captive audience, uh . . . for the comments he [Pope] was making to Christie, which I believe were very offensive." . . . .

Mr. Pope responds with, among other things, that:

"I can only tell you, Mr. Dielman, I was glad to be able to occupy Mr. Christie and Mr. Bland after dark with perhaps the hope of keeping them out of a tavern."

Of course, this last is classic Milo, the intelligent and legally trained old spinmeister at work. He takes the focus off his bad behavior, which included drinking with anti-Council friends during an important Council meeting he chose to miss, urinating outside his law office, and detaining a person on the public right of way. Instead of facing the facts, he spins the focus onto his saving you from his own imaginings of Mr. Bland's and my alleged future behavior, as if he were some sort of good hearted woman fighting the evils of alcohol in the days leading up to its ban during the prohibition period. The problem is this fictional narrative only existed in his head for self-serving purposes. Jason and I, across the street on public property, were simply preparing to go home separately, and I was intent on getting back to my computer to process the photos I had taken.

See Also:

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2010
What was Milo Pope Doing While AWOL from the August 24, 2010 Council Meeting?

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2010
Follow-up on Councilor Pope’s “Fellowship” with Steve Brocato and Friends.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2010
Butterflies and Minor Aggravations

Video #1:
Citizen Asks Councilor Pope Tough Questions-091410.m4v

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Here is part two (of three) videos from the meeting of September 14, 2010.

In this clip from the September 14, 2010 Baker City Council meeting, Steve Bogart, interim City Manager, states that basically, the County District Attorney will determine whether there were any "illegal actions" on the part of Mr. Pope. In reality, the DA has said that he will likely be referring the file to a DA in another county for that, due to a possible conflict of interest on his part. In any event, anyone, including Gary Dielman, can read the statutes and determine for themselves whether or not they think a violation of any city or Oregon statute has occurred, even if a DA my not concur.

Councilor Calder then offers objections to Mr. Pope's conduct, and provides more historical context to his actions, including his "Ground Hog Day" style "squeaking" about the Brocato firing, and his meeting with the former City Manager who is suing the city, with many former city officials of similar opinion attending Milo's party that night during a Council meeting.

Both Councilor Calder and Mr. Dielman then express their wish that Councilor Pope resign.

Mr Pope declines, alleging that he was spied upon (as opposed to reporters covering his whereabouts), while ignoring the problem of who he was meeting with. He states that "there is nothing I could tell him [Mr. Brocato] that, that, he can't find out from city archives." This was a particularly interesting statement, given that the city, while Mr. Brocato's friend and Assistant City Manager, Ms. Watkins, (who was meeting with Mr. Pope and Mr. Brocato that particular evening during the Council meeting) was working for the city when the city, in June of this year, dumped a truckload of city "archives" at the local recycle center.

City "Archives" in Baker Sanitary Dumpster
See: "House Cleaning at City Hall"

Mr. Pope, in a "Ground Hog Day" moment, then refers to the firing of Mr. Brocato as "craven and cowardly," even though it took tremendous courage for the four Councilors to fire Mr. Brocato.

Video #2
Citizen and Councilor Ask Councilor Pope To Resign ( #2-091410).m4v

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This is part three (of three) from an event at the Baker City Council meeting on September 14, 2010.

In this clip from the September 14, 2010 Baker City Council meeting, planner Jenny Long talks about planning issues, including concerns about obstruction of stop signs by tree branches, etc., and about lower lying limbs from trees getting in the way of school busses and privately owned vehicles, like garbage trucks. She is, or will be, sending out letters to affected property owners to ask them to correct these conditions.

Councilor Duman asks Councilor Pope to consider resigning.

Councilor Bonebrake apologizes to Councilor Pope for events I am unaware of and do not understand.

Councilor Pope declines to resign, stating that his privacy has been invaded, despite the fact that he is a public figure who chose to evade a Council meeting and who was observed urinating in a public place downtown, in violation of a city ordinance. State statutes do not support any allegation of invasion of personal privacy--See: ORS 163.700

Councilor Clair Button assures Mr. Pope that the Council doesn't have the authority to throw him out. He also states that "It would be good if we all re-read [Council] Resolution 3407, and thought about the words in there--I haven't felt craven in quite a few years." (Res. 3407 addresses the appropriateness of talking ill about other Councilors.)

Councilor Aletha Bonebrake thanks departing City Manager Steve Bogart for his service.

Council Comments (Part Three 091410)

City Council Meeting for Vote to Hire Tim Johnson as City Manager (12/18/09) Part Three

Here are two more segments of the December 18, 2009 Council Meeting on offering the city manager job to Tim Johnson. I hope to have the rest of the meeting up before the New Year. One again, the right hand portion of the video is clipped in Google Blogger so best to view on YouTube. With a Mac you can do it by clicking on the large start button in the middle of the picture as you also hold down the "control" key. From the menu that appears, choose the first "Watch on YouTube" option.
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Council 121809- Part 11: Councilor Calder Responds to Peggy Timm. Moves to Offer Job to Johnson.

In this segment, Councilor Calder responds to Peggy Timm's questions about Tim Johnson's qualifications and makes motion to Offer Job to Tim Johnson. Councilor Bonebrake seconds the motion.



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Council 121809- Part 12: Councilor Bryan Comments on Process and Mr. Johnson's Experience.

In this segment, Councilor Bryan comments that the public process for the hiring has not been handled properly and states that "Mr. Johnson does not have the professional experience specific to managing a city." Mayor Dorrah also closes public [input] portion of meeting

City Council Meeting for Vote to Hire Tim Johnson as City Manager (12/18/09) Part Two

Apologies to all for taking so long to get just two more segments of the Council meeting up on the blog, and for the poor video quality (technical difficulties! ;-)) Each segment takes quite a bit of time to edit, save, upload and etc.

Editorial Comment ( ok, most of my comments are editorial): I also forgot to mention, that in my conversations with Tim Johnson, he didn't automatically dismiss my views on some issues, even when he may have disagreed. Instead, he dialogued with me about solutions to problems that would lead to agreement between different perspectives. It was not a conversation that led me to believe he would eject someone from his office simply because there were questions that made him defend a policy, or implied disagreement--he tried to find solutions that accommodated my views. I think he would do the same for you.

In any event, here are two more segments:

Council 121809-Part 9E: Mayor Dorrah Defends Johnson, Reads Last of Recommendation Letters



And,

Council 121809-Part 10: Peggy Timm questions Lack Of Information, Dorrah Defends Confidentiality


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A Note from Lorelei Nalley:

Sirs, for six months we the people have listened to
you about the topic of Mr. Brocato, ad nauseam. It is
now my turn as a citizen of Baker City to speak out.

Mr. Pope--- I cringe every time you open your mouth to speak or put a pen to paper to write. I am surprised that nobody has tied a string around your feet and made a balloon of you.

Mr. Bass---You have not got an ounce of oak in you unless it is in the autumn leaves that fall from it's branches and go where ever the wind scatters them. Eventually you land someplace just in time for the snow to bury you and render you useless.

Mr. Bryan---You are the worst of the bunch. You would have been better suited for Salem, and I mean Salem, Massachusetts in the late 1600's when whisperings, back stabbing, innuendos, bald faced lies lead to the imprisonment, stoning, hangings, and the burning at the stake of innocent people. Only this time you are not attacking Ms. Calder, this time it is a man you do not even know. With friends like you who needs enemies.

I am ashamed to say that I voted for each of you. I TRUSTED you all. You made spoken, written, and implied promises of serving your community. Instead you have become self serving. I would have been better off burning my ballot. It has come to no good having you serve on the city council.

As I see it there is not a thimbleful of honor amongst the three of you.

My husband says that not all people will take on so much responsibility and then turn around and let so many people down.

You all have wasted tax payers money and squandered the time the voters gave you to act on our behalf. The recall was an expensive bad joke. We, the people, now have to pay for that frivolous action. That money could have been used in so many other USEFUL ways, now we don't have it. The voters have spoken. The majority of us voted NO to have Mayor Dorrah and Ms. Calder removed from office. What part of NO don't you understand---the N or is it the O? Even dogs and two year old children understand the meaning of NO and we get a better response from them.

When our Mayor walked into Mr. Brocato's office and asked him to resign or be fired---Mr Brocato was told then that the Mayor had the votes. I don't think our Mayor realized, at the time, how much of a vote he really had. He had the vote of the PEOPLE not just the council. We, the PEOPLE have spoken.

Now is the time for ALL THREE of you to make a decision. Either work for the PEOPLE of Baker City or step down.

Quite frankly I think a good portion of the people would prefer that you chose the latter. We need people that want to serve our needs and care for the betterment of our community. We don't need people that are in the office for self grandisement and wasting our time and money.

Lorelei Nalley
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Warren Zevon-Knocking on Heaven's Door


[This song was written by Bob Dylan (Robert Zimmerman) in 1973. It's been a favorite ever since. Bobby lives, Warren is gone, but no special meaning on my part here. I just go to dark places sometimes.]

City Council Meeting for Vote to Hire Tim Johnson as City Manager (12/18/09) Part One

I filmed the special City Council meeting concerning the appointment of Tim johnson to fill the position of city manager for Baker City on Friday, December 18, 2009. As there is no other video record that I am aware of, I am publishing the video of the meeting, in the public interest, in several segments on YouTube. Those YouTube segments may be accessed from this blog as they become available. Google Blogger tends to cut off portions of the right side of the video, so if you want the full view, it is better to view them on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=chrischristie1948&ytsession=Z6UGcoFaVykIyDwVq6AYsI5jvODdRK3Ye7yk4BuQeYshopzRgyRtvJjG1fPlztLijpl0Ssd7QYc09YYnmbdkcfuj24DDN5osVrf9vSMApEZThHN7PxpgPk7fTP1HBz0vvH3WEBZfnLRNGuqoa5t43K1a-_lTxOdeH0Jk1DazcJYZf4g5T7aw19SGSVemb06MSszrC850FAo#p/u

I don't really have a dog in this fight, because as Councilor Button and others have said, any of the four finalists would probably do a good job for Baker City. In the interest of full disclosure though, I must tell you that I have spoken with Tim Johnson twice. I find him to be very intelligent and much more informed in many ways than I am when it comes to managing city governments and making cities successful (ok, that may be a low bar ;-)). He is also very open, personable, friendly, and frank. He has said that he favors an "open, shared, and participatory" government, and that the city's actions will be "measurable, accountable and time bound." He has also suggested that he may remove the door to his office ;-). It is my hope that those traits will translate into a successful city manager for Baker City.

My own bias is exposed in certain ways in the descriptions of the proceedings. Most importantly, I feel that Councilor Pope's letter, and Tim Collins' reading of it, was an attempt to "poison the well" prior to Mr. Johnson's taking charge." Poisoning the Well" is, as first described by John Henry Newman, an attempt "to cut the ground from under [someone's] feet;—to poison by anticipation the public mind against [someone]."

In yesterday's Herald (Councilor's List Down To Johnson), it was reported that "Dorrah said Councilors discussed Johnson's and Hulse's background checks during an executive session, which is closed to the public, because the city agreed to keep the information confidential."

Obviously, Councilor Pope and temporary city manager Collins, were not in full agreement with that view, as the proceedings shown below demonstrate.

Some have suggested ulterior motives, because in the same article, assistant city manager Jennifer Watkins "told the Council Thursday that in the event the Council decides to postpone making a decision, Tim Collins, city manager pro-tem, has offered to stay on for an additional six months." The theory is that Collins, Watkins, and city staff are afraid of personnel decisions that might be made by a Brocato replacement who actually works for the Council. Some people have also told me that city manager pro-tem Collins was largely responsible for the selection of Freeman and Associates, the firm that returned a very unflattering background check on Tim Johnson.

Below is the first set of several segments of the Council Meeting. I will post more as I have time to process them for YouYube. Without further adieu, here are the first segments:
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Council 121809-Part1
Part one of the Special City Council meeting to vote on hiring Tim Johnson as the new Baker City city manager. (short)


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Council 121809-Part 2: Poisoning the Well
Part two of the Special City Council meeting to vote on hiring Tim Johnson as the new Baker City city manager. Tim Collins reads portions of Milo Pope's letter referring to a conclusion drawn by Mr. Freeman of Freeman & Associates in a background report for city manager candidate Tim Johnson. Normally this type of personnel issue is handled in executive session, and by reading some of the letter in public, people are told of a negative report with no specific allegations or any evidence being presented to substantiate a negative opinion.


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Council 121809-Part 3: Councilor Calder expresses displeasure at Collins for reading letter
Part three of the Special City Council meeting to vote on hiring Tim Johnson as the new Baker City city manager. Councilor Calder expresses displeasure that staff read parts of Councilor Pope's letter in a public session.


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Council 121809-Part 4: Councilor Bryan suggests reading Councilor Pope's letter into the record.
Part four of the Special City Council meeting to vote on hiring Tim Johnson as the new Baker City city manager. Councilor Bryan suggests reading Councilor Pope's letter into the record.


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Council 121809-Part 5: Councilor Bonebrake responds to innuendo in Councilor Pope's letter
Part five of the Special City Council meeting to vote on hiring Tim Johnson as the new Baker City city manager. Councilor Bonebrake responds to innuendo in Councilor Pope's letter, citing a preponderance of evidence favorable to Tim Johnson's 30 year career as a public servant. ". . . there is absolutely nothing in his record that would indicate lawsuits or conflict or grievances, or anything else . . . .


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Council 121809-Part 6: Councilor Button supports Tim Johnson and says "it is time to move on."
Part five of the Special City Council meeting to vote on hiring Tim Johnson as the new Baker City city manager. Councilor Clair Button notes that "None of us is perfect and I think that if anyone of us were subjected to the degree of scrutiny Mr. Johnson was put through, there is not one person here who would not find something in the way of a person who was disaffected with you at some point in the past. That is not to say that there are not things we need to discuss . . . . I recognize that there are some people who will never accept the past decisions of this council and who will not accept the voice of the voters as was represented in the recall election . . . . I personally take that as an acclamation from the public to move on . . . ."


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Council 121809-Part 7: Councilor Bass says " I really don't have a whole lot to say."
Part seven of the Special City Council meeting to vote on hiring Tim Johnson as the new Baker City city manager. In this segment, Councilor Sam Bass says " I really don't have a whole lot to say. . . . . We have said thing and said things and said things, and nobody seems to care one way or the other, uh, I did not vote for Mr. Johnson."


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Council 121809-part 8: Councilor Bryan--Poisoning the well, part 2
In this segment: Councilor Bryan--"I have . . . great concerns about his character and fitness for the city manager position. I don't think this is the time or place to provide more detailed information . . . it is not appropriate . . . the bottom line is that the background check was not a positive reflection on Mr. Johnson in this position and was not a recommendation to hire him."


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Council 121809-Part 9A: Mayor Dorrah Defends Johnson, Reads Recommendation Letters
Part 9A of the Special City Council meeting to vote on hiring Tim Johnson as the new Baker City city manager. Here, Mayor Dennis Dorrah defends Johnson and reads recommendation letters. "One thing I'd like to point out from the discussion with Mr. Freeman--he pointed out that on a criminal background check--which was, this was almost a criminal background check, that 98% of the people he checks out, do not pass their, do not meet their satisfaction. On a positive note. . . ." [Dorrah reads some of around ten letters praising Tim Johnson's success and abilities.]


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Council 121809-Part 9B: Mayor Dorrah Defends Johnson, Reads Recommendation Letters
Part 9B of the Special City Council meeting to vote on hiring Tim Johnson as the new Baker City city manager. Here, Mayor Dennis Dorrah reads more of around ten letters praising Tim Johnson's success and abilities.


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Council 121809-Part 9C: Mayor Dorrah Defends Johnson, Reads Recommendation Letters
Part 9C of the Special City Council meeting to vote on hiring Tim Johnson as the new Baker City city manager. Here, Mayor Dennis Dorrah reads more of around ten letters praising Tim Johnson's success and abilities.


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I will be adding more clips as time allows.