What if Your Town Council is “in the pocket” of the mayor?

Every town needs council representatives who can think independently. What we mean by "think independently" is that our representatives must be willing to do their own due diligence when actively voting on changes for the town. They need to be willing to stand up for what is right and be a voice for the citizens and not be influenced by alliances among the Mayor and other council members. Even if that means going against the undermining assumptions the Mayor and other council members may be united on. 

Zoning changes occur through the approval of the town council.  This select group of individuals decides what changes will happen in our town, and as their constituents, we must hope they vote in a way that represents our desires. 

Copper Canyon has had a recent experience with the mindset of “We are town council-we decide what's best for the community” and decisions were made that had a permanent and profound impact on the landscape of our town. We didn't stand for it then, and should not stand for it today.  

Our current mayor resigned in 2013 from his position as Mayor of Bartonville because he lost his alliances on the council.  We have more information on this in Article 2 on this issue.  

Any review of the meetings from the last year will show how little discussion occurred on each subject the council was called to vote on. When were these discussions being held if not during the council meetings?  If the standing Mayor has a known history of making decisions with the assurance of his council member alliances votes, do they really need to have open discussions during the council meetings?  In fact, one of the councilmen recently made the comment  “I never read any information until the start of the meeting.”  

Ladies and gentlemen, think about it.  The mayor doesn’t want to hear your input until 1 month before any election.  He must have a council that will march right behind him on every issue.  He has proven this is how he operates in the past. 

Copper Canyon needs independent thinkers in town governance who care about your position on decisions that impact the town and will ask those hard questions while researching, and be mindful of your tax dollars. 

The decision is up to you. How many times has your council reached out to you?  Keep your town council independent.  Keep your voice being heard.