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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Community Comment

Depose King Joe?

Good morning, Netizens...


All I have to do is mention the name King Joe and nearly three-quarters of the people reading this already know of whom I speak, and perhaps half have already witnessed one of King Joe's acidic tirades from his throne atop the dais of the City Council chamber. However, Joe Shogan is a known (some say a feared) factor when it comes to dealing with the City Council when it comes to public input.


However Spokesman's Shawn Vestal does a pretty good job of portraying Joe in a column this morning at http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010/apr/23/at-council-joe-does-it-his-way/ and he doesn't mince a lot of words about it. That sort of surprises me, because I never heard anyone directly take on Joe Shogan in print before, but that wouldn't stop me from crying out my huzzahs, either.


There was a time not that many years ago when the Public Input sessions during the City Council meetings were interesting. People from a broad range of opinions, likes and dislikes, and a plethora of political affiliations all waited in line to speak their piece before the Council. Some of these people came better-prepared than most of the Council members.


Who could forget George McGrath waving the documents he had acquired from the City of Spokane railing about the potential long-term costs of River Park Square to the taxpayers? As the history turned out, George was spot-on, and those of us who remember those days fondly will ever forget George for that.


Will anyone remember King Joe as anything other than a tyrannical popinjay lawyer who has tossed more citizens out of his City Council chambers than anyone in history? Will history reflect, instead, that King Joe was a kindly, benevolent Council President who treated citizens with the respect and the dignity they deserve? Probably not.


In my opinion, King Joe needs a new job. There is a lot of corruption and graft in City Hall these days, and the citizens should have the right to object.


Depose King Joe. He is an embarrassment to Spokane.


Dave



Spokesman-Review readers blog about news and issues in Spokane written by Dave Laird.