AN EDITORIAL BY JOHN ESTRIDGE
WARNING WARNING WARNING
Just kidding.
There is so much to write about concerning Brookville’s Town Council and the members who make up council, well, at least some of them.
First, there is the ruling by the state’s Public Access Counselor on a complaint BTC was violating the state’s Open Door Law. He affirmed they were violating the Open Door Law.
Second, there is BTC President Curtis Ward’s speech at the end of the last council meeting, Tuesday, May 11.
Both things actually tie in together.
First things first: Carla Hacker filed a complaint with the state’s Public Access Counselor because the Brookville Town Council refused to respond to inquiries from people who live here, own businesses here and pay taxes here. It is an ongoing problem which actually extends back to prior town council configurations, but seems to have gotten much worse with this town council configuration.
This particular situation concerned the town’s appointment to the county’s Area Plan Commission.
Luke Britt, the state’s public access counselor, did everything but levy a fine against BTC. To see his quotes, go to the article about it on this blog. They are quotes taken directly from his published ruling (cut and paste). So to Curtis, Brooke Leffingwell, Chuck Campbell and Terry Mitchum: these quotes are not made up or manufactured. In fact, I have never done that. I encourage all things I have written, both in the past and now, be fact checked.
During that exchange when Ward was just a town council member and had yet to ascend to the council president throne, Ward really denigrated a person in the audience who had the audacity to apply for the APC position when no one else from the town had stepped up to volunteer for that position for more than six months.
Gary “Gig” Marmouze volunteered. And as it came to pass HOW DARE HE VOLUNTEER? Gig did not have the correct thoughts according to the Thought Police here. Gig is against annexation of Snob Hill. He is not alone in that opinion. He is more than likely part of the great majority, dare I say it “The Silent Majority.” That last reference was for old people like me.
Now, let’s skip to Ward’s speech that one person who heard it referred to it as Ward’s Kumbayah Speech. I have it in its entirety elsewhere on this blog so you can fact check my statements either there or on Ward’s personal Facebook page.
To paraphrase the first two paragraphs, he was shocked and saddened about the public response on social media concerning the tickets issued to the town’s residents for breathing air incorrectly out on Brookville’s streets.
We, the people, were nasty.
Ward was very saddened by our responses.
“I love the places and businesses, and I love the people. I did not love what I witnessed last week.”
He went on to say what we, collectively, did wrong.
“It seems to me that over the past few years that it’s become seemingly more popular to be divisive and critical of each others (I think he meant “other” here) and ideas. The notion of you can’t be right if i (I) feel I’m right prevails. There is no opportunity to have a healthy debate and simply agree to disagree.”
Let me just give the definition of hypocrite here: “a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion. 2 : a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings.”
This is Merriam-Webster, but I think the definition is pretty consistent across the board.
Again, don’t take what others feel is my tainted word for this: Go to the town’s Facebook page and watch the video and listen to the sound track if that is possible, sometimes it is not, for the different meetings in question.
In one of the meetings Hacker referenced in her complaint was when Marmouze had the audacity to volunteer. After that audacious display, Ward let him have it in front of council members, those in the audience and those watching on the video feed. Ward was not feeling the “love for the people” that night. And that last paragraph of his speech did not come to the forefront that night: “It seems to me that over the past few years that it’s become seemingly more popular to be divisive and critical of each others (I think he meant “other” here) and ideas. The notion of you can’t be right if i (I) feel I’m right prevails. There is no opportunity to have a healthy debate and simply agree to disagree.”
I called Gig after the meeting Ward treated him like a piece of crap, and I am not kidding here, I was almost in tears telling Gig I was so sorry for how he was treated by Ward. Gig and I are not besties, but I have known him for more than a few years and we were co-workers at one time and even attended the same church in the past.
One of Gig’s biggest faults that night was his public stance against annexation. What used to be considered a good American practice, actually allowed by the authorities, he was out front and public with his opinion.
Some of Ward’s comments at the meeting where he publicly berated Gig were in Hacker’s complaint letter: “Curtis didn’t like him because Marmouze was AGAINST the annexation and stated so publicly. Ward said that ‘since he had a predetermined opinion about the annexation that he obviously picked up from sitting close to the anti annexation people at the meetings,’ he didn’t want him to be the representative.”
That was Hacker. In the defense of the BTC to Hacker’s complaint, town attorney Tammy Davis directly quoted that night: “Mr. Marmouze questioned why he was being imposed to an interview and requested that Mr. (Mike) Biltz (then-BTC president) not interview him due to a previous interaction that occurred outside of the council meetings. Council Member Ward volunteered to serve instead. Mr. Marmouze continued questioning the interview process and overviewing his qualifications. As a result, Mr. Ward expressed that he did have reservations about appointing Mr. Marmouze citing his recent actions classified by Ward as ‘public outbursts’ and Mr. Marmouze forming opinions before searching for a factual basis.”
Let me tell you, that was the G rated version. And what one does not get to see or hear with printed words is the smugness and condescending nature of the one who is speaking from the front of the meeting room.
Now, the kicker is, the person eventually picked by BTC is an employee of Ward’s at Century 21 Real Estate. Ward was on the committee that picked her. (Footnote: It was a committee created to get around the Open Door Law, according to the Public Access Counselor.) Not only is the appointee Ward’s employee but she was very public about her opinion FOR annexation. For me, it is not wrong she publicly stated her opinion or what her opinion was, but Gig was derided and found unworthy as an appointee because Gig apparently had the wrong opinion. Let me paste Ward’s last paragraph in his Kumbaya speech again: “It seems to me that over the past few years that it’s become seemingly more popular to be divisive and critical of each others (I think he meant “other” here) and ideas. The notion of you can’t be right if i (I) feel I’m right prevails. There is no opportunity to have a healthy debate and simply agree to disagree.”
Just go back up to see the definition of hypocrite if you need to.
If Ward had just done this to Gig, it would have been bad but not unforgiveable, but just ask Hacker, Wayne Monroe, Earl Moore and I believe I am leaving 10 or 12 other people out concerning how Ward has treated them badly in public.
Another example of this town council and how we all have to be nice to each other is a one way street meant only for the taxpayers and not council is remarks on my WARNING WARNING WARNING editorial that is still on my blog. They were made by BTC member Chuck Campbell after Ward’s speech: “I am very proud to be a resident of this wonderful town. You must have a crystal ball by the way you predict things that are going to happen in the future, in your mind. Recently you submitted questions for the town council to answer. The questions did not pertain to anything we were discussing. You were “assuming “many things. Then to top it off, you couldn’t attend that meeting. I encourage all people to attend their town council meetings. I encourage participation. I do not encourage people to get the biased, agenda based information that you spin out. And yes, you do spin it. A dog sniffing another dog’s butt gets more information than from anything you spit out.”
Prior to the meeting, this was his response: “To put it as you did John….grow a set and come to the town meetings. Quit hiding behind a keyboard. Maybe you will learn a thing or two. You can sure stir the pot, can you eat what you fix? I thought you were different. I had hope for you. But you just disappointed me like the rest of them. Keyboard warriors.”
After reading those, I feel his love. I feel like we have bonded, and he respects my opinion even if it different from his own.
Kumbayah
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Thank you for being a voice out there that is not afraid to speak the truth. The Town of Brookville is not a place of Free Speech, BTC has shut that down. I would like to share my thoughts that are different than the councils. I am saddened by the tickets given in town. There are so many reasons why people park differently. As long as you are out of the way why does it matter? Parking tickets do not save lives and the looks of it doesn’t matter. Visitors are not driving around these back streets daily all the time. How do I know? I live here. We are all just trying to live and there are so many good people in this town and this subject is just ridiculous. One- OMG people have no idea what it’s like to live here having no voice of reasoning around. I do feel it is harassment even if it is a rule on the books. It needs to be changed and be happy they are getting their tax dollars and appreciate the wonderful people that live here. The people for annexation clearly don’t know what it’s like having the cops drive by all the time looking to give ridiculous tickets instead of protecting them. Also this so called Farmers Market on Saturday.. ridiculous. They are using our tax dollars/parking tickets money to actually pay for signage and they don’t have any profits from the business yet to pay for it. The last BTC meeting when they put down the market on Friday. I don’t know the lady that stood up but it has bothered me ever since how Curtis and Brooke really said terrible things to her. I was so sad for her and all that has been involved over the years. I go to that market and never had a problem. I also go to Whites Market. When they brought up the parking issue to her I was crazed! Parking in this town is a joke on Main! Paying a quarter is a joke. I would never walk to the market, I live in town, I wish the council would stop speaking for me. Just because the council wants the market on the main drag they put it there and what ever was being done before and still is was easily being dismissed and just no respect at all. They are using our money for signage as Chuck Campbell pointed out how dangerous it could be and it was dismissed by Brooke and Curtis. Curtis said there were complaints about the other people about how hard it is to park down at the bottom of the hill. Well Curtis there are a lot of complaints every day about us good people in Brookville getting ridiculous tickets by our own homes and that doesn’t seem to change your mind on changing the rules for ‘the people.’ Change the rules for us people in town. Listen to our stories. There are so many reasonings why that rule should change but that’s right since ‘the people’ want a so called Farmers Market in town on Saturday, he gets his way…. who cares about all us little tax paying towns people just trying to make it every day that do not or won’t go to an in town market or pay for your pretty signage! They are blind and deaf to the majority of good hard working people that live here. John, I thank you so much for giving us little people a voice and commend you for doing what you do! I also wanted to clarify that when Curtis and Brooke are trying to justify their decisions by saying “Well the people in town want or have complaints…blah blah blah.” I am not one of them that was included so far. I am not for them raising the price of living here in Brookville so easily, I am For free speech in a public meeting and do not believe in most of anything they do There are different reasons for our parking choices and I think they are all justified. Rules need to be changed as well as we need a new police chief. But you know, who cares it’s just what I have been told by the people in town.