Comments on: Council’s Small Meeting Rule – Example of Negative Impact http://greensboropolitics.com/councils-small-meeting-rule-example-of-negative-impact/ Fri, 26 Nov 2010 18:27:50 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: ryan shell http://greensboropolitics.com/councils-small-meeting-rule-example-of-negative-impact/comment-page-1/#comment-9618 ryan shell Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:27:46 +0000 http://greensboropolitics.com/?p=1187#comment-9618 I, personally, would be in favor of a solution that would allow council to have meetings like the one Nancy outlined. It's more efficient. Transparency is very important though, and I'd never lose site of that. Ryan I, personally, would be in favor of a solution that would allow council to have meetings like the one Nancy outlined. It’s more efficient. Transparency is very important though, and I’d never lose site of that.

Ryan

]]> By: Jordan Green http://greensboropolitics.com/councils-small-meeting-rule-example-of-negative-impact/comment-page-1/#comment-9617 Jordan Green Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:55:48 +0000 http://greensboropolitics.com/?p=1187#comment-9617 Kudos on your post, Ryan. I hesitate to jump in on this discussion, but will all the same. This is primarily a policy discussion for council to determine, and I expect and hope that my opinion will only be given only secondary consideration. I consider myself a champion of transparency, but I had no part in prodding the council to eliminate small group meetings. I know this will be perceived as taking sides, but from my perspective the change didn't bring about more transparency. I found members of the last council to be more reluctant to comment on their various agendas and to provide information about governance than their predecessor. I can only surmise that this was a result of being uninformed, paranoid about each others' intentions and embarrassed about their lack of information. What transpired in open session with the press in attendance tended to be more potshots, personal attacks and other rhetorical static than substantive discussion or factual information. As a reporter, I would prefer to talk to council members who are informed. The risk of allowing more than one council member to talk to staff at the same time is that everyone else is at an informational disadvantage. No one in the politics or the media likes to be surprised, but it seems to me that we're all in a chase for information, to some degree. We can all pick up the phone and call council members and staff members to find out what they're up to. The current policy seems to be supported by my competition at the Rhino Times, which endorsed most of the current council and has strong relationships with Rakestraw and Wade, the two members who most strongly oppose the small group meetings. That's fine. All part of the process. But the transparency argument only goes so far, from my limited vantage point. Kudos on your post, Ryan. I hesitate to jump in on this discussion, but will all the same.

This is primarily a policy discussion for council to determine, and I expect and hope that my opinion will only be given only secondary consideration. I consider myself a champion of transparency, but I had no part in prodding the council to eliminate small group meetings. I know this will be perceived as taking sides, but from my perspective the change didn’t bring about more transparency. I found members of the last council to be more reluctant to comment on their various agendas and to provide information about governance than their predecessor. I can only surmise that this was a result of being uninformed, paranoid about each others’ intentions and embarrassed about their lack of information.

What transpired in open session with the press in attendance tended to be more potshots, personal attacks and other rhetorical static than substantive discussion or factual information. As a reporter, I would prefer to talk to council members who are informed. The risk of allowing more than one council member to talk to staff at the same time is that everyone else is at an informational disadvantage. No one in the politics or the media likes to be surprised, but it seems to me that we’re all in a chase for information, to some degree. We can all pick up the phone and call council members and staff members to find out what they’re up to.

The current policy seems to be supported by my competition at the Rhino Times, which endorsed most of the current council and has strong relationships with Rakestraw and Wade, the two members who most strongly oppose the small group meetings. That’s fine. All part of the process.

But the transparency argument only goes so far, from my limited vantage point.

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