Mayor stifling citizens at council meetings

It seems to me that Hempstead Mayor Michael Wolfe has forgotten one of the primary roles of government.
Government exists to serve the people, not the other way around. I get the feeling that he has his own agenda, whatever that may be. At the last City Council meeting, he placed seven agenda items submitted by resident Red Foster under public comments. That limited Foster to just three minutes to make his case on all seven items combined and prohibited the council from responding. At the end of three minutes, Wolfe cut him off.
Next, former city secretary Virginia Shafer resumed her earlier complaint about improprieties with the city budget. She started her complaint last month and Wolfe cut her off without listening to her. This time he appeared to at least listen, though he did time her and cut her off again.
Each time Shafer has spoken, I have asked Mayor Wolfe for comment. Each time it’s been “no comment.”
How can Wolfe expect to represent the people of Hempstead when he won’t listen to them? Granted, Shafer now lives in Houston, but she still has interests here.
Foster went to the extreme of filling out agenda request forms for each of his seven items. As a taxpayer and resident of this community, he should have had each one placed on the agenda and dealt with appropriately. The way Wolfe is acting, it’s like he doesn’t want to respond to issues concerning the people he represents. He seems more content to focus on the things he wants to deal with.
Most of the items on Foster’s list have to do with making more information public. He was looking for regular updates on several municipal projects. He is also concerned about the way many graves of veterans are left in disrepair. These things are important, but Wolfe doesn’t seem to care. At least that’s the perception I have coming out of the meetings.
Wolfe also told me that one of the reasons he did not make agenda items out of Foster’s requests was that it would have made the council meeting last too long. Since when is the length of a council meeting an issue? Isn’t conducting the business of the people more important than finishing within an hour? And if time is a real concern, why don’t the council meetings start on time?
I write this with a bit of trepidation, as I value my working relationship with Wolfe and also as a brother in Christ. In my role as watchdog of the government, however, I have a hard time swallowing this kind of arrogance. It is my hope that Mayor Wolfe will take this as constructive criticism and not a personal attack. That’s the way it’s intended.
I don’t think these people’s opinions should be shut out just because they seem trivial or bothersome. Transparency in government and free and open dialogue are vital to the success of our democracy.

Walking the walk
This is much harder than I thought it would be. A while ago I wrote about giving up the Lone Ranger Fan Club so I could devote more time and attention to my family. The transfer to another owner is in progress and should be complete soon.
In the meantime, the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame and Museum in Waco announced it will have a Lone Ranger Fan Day on Jan. 29 to unveil a new Lone Ranger collection. I really want to go and would like to do a story on it for my last newsletter. I talked it over with my wife and she thought it would make a good family trip.
To help spread the news, I created an invitation for it on our Lone Ranger Fan Club Facebook page. I promoted it and talked it up and have two people from England and a friend from Atlanta flying in for it.
The guy who will appear as the Lone Ranger had his gun belt stolen and is not sure his new one will be made in time for the event. I offered to bring mine as a backup for him. Everything was looking good for a really fun event.
Then we got word about a major Scouting honor my son will receive on the same day. (Shh, don’t tell him, it’s a surprise.) I have been struggling internally whether to stick with my commitment to the event or break it to be at the Scouting event. My wife and I have had a lot of discussion about this.
I concluded that I will forgo the event and be there for my son. Lone Ranger events will come and go, but I only get one chance to raise my son. I love you, Wesley, and I’ve very proud of you!