Save the fighting for real issues

Nothing wrong with a little sunshine at the council meetings.

It seems like council members could use a little more sunshine in

their lives, or anything that will help lighten up the meetings.

Community activists asking questions about community groups

(whatever their not-so-subtle motivation) and even council members

disagreeing about certain groups, policies or the direction the city

should be heading -- these things are not a problem. The problem is

when grown city leaders would rather lob snide remarks at each other

instead of moving forward with city business.

Anyone can ask anything of the city leaders, but if the

information is public record down at the county recorder or the city

clerk’s office, why spend all the time gathering the information and

presenting it at a meeting?

It took the council, and the public, until 3 a.m. on May 6 to

“discuss” issues that were public record or non-issues.

Apparently, Councilwoman Elizabeth Pearson decided against

bringing up all the details about political action committees.

“I don’t want to go there,” she said. “I wanted to take the high

road and not attack any individuals.”

Too late. The bag was open, the public was prompted to give input,

and Mayor Toni Iseman, unfortunately, felt the need to defend Village

Laguna.

The problem is, they did nothing wrong, and any information

Pearson wanted could have been obtained through the city clerk. That

should have been the end of it.

One positive suggestion made during the meeting was support for

the ability to view contributions online. Sure, that would make

funding for future elections a more open process, but dragging up

what everyone received during the last election, when it’s all public

already and no one is accused of illegal action ... it just feels

like a feud. A big, ugly wasting-our-time feud.

If one of these groups really does something wrong, let’s have a

big long meeting about it. Until then, let’s take care of city

business that needs our attention.