Vocal Point: Spokane Valley City Council’s new direction should concern citizens
Hush money. That is what you call the $411,115 paid by the city of Spokane Valley to former City Manager Mike Jackson to go silently into the night.
He just needs to keep his mouth shut on the details of what was said to him by Councilmen Arne Woodard and Ed Pace in asking for his resignation prior to the open meeting of the full council on whether to dismiss him. Unless there is something else they don’t want him to disclose as part of their termination agreement. This was three times the amount stipulated in his contract. Boy could that fix a lot of potholes.
No one can fault Jackson for accepting the deal, especially because he got fired without cause from a job for which he received glowing reviews. Hush money plain and simple. So much for fiscal responsibility.
We should have first noticed there was a problem with this City Council when Ed Pace initiated a frivolous investigation at taxpayer cost, claiming that his friends of the Spokane Constitutional Republicans had been spied on and filmed by Spokane County sherriff’s deputies. Not only did Pace misrepresent the event, he missed one important fact – the Sheriff’s Office doesn’t have body or car cameras. Perhaps next he will direct the city to investigate black helicopters (I will save the tinfoil hat analogy for another day). This is paranoia by any other name.
According to council members, the city is heading in a “new direction.” They refuse to disclose what that direction is, but perhaps we had a glimpse of that direction at a recent City Council meeting. A friend and ally of the council majority commented in front of the council in a disturbing way. After telling those citizens who had differing opinions than his to move out of the city if they didn’t like it, he stated that “the beatings will continue until morale improves.” After previously pounding his gavel at anyone who he seemingly didn’t agree with, Mayor Rod Higgins was strangely silent for this bullying. Shocking. This threat of violence against those who opposed the four councilmen’s views went unchecked. Several people at the meeting felt threatened. A complaint was made to the sheriff. A call was made to the FBI. When confronted with this later, Higgins dismissed my concern, stating that we obviously have different standards as far as rules of conduct at a public meeting. Quite different indeed. Different from James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, as well.
Lack of accountability to the citizenry, paranoia, secret meetings, taxpayer-funded hush money and now bullying of the public – this is the worst kind of leadership. If this is the council’s new direction, we should all be concerned. Ironically, it is always the pro-Constitution crowd who want to trample it the most. Mayor Higgins said, “Settling is easier than litigation.” Indeed. And effective leadership is better than what we have.