What the hell has happened to city council meetings? (Are you listening, Carthage?)

Over 22 years as a newspaper reporter, I covered hundreds of city council meetings. At the time, I thought some of them were out of control. 

With the benefit of hindsight, I can tell you those meetings were models of decorum compared to what I have seen in some local meetings over the past few years.

At some point, city council meetings in many places changed from venues where public business was discussed and decided to performance art demonstrations.

Maybe it started during the pandemic when we had the Proud Boys, among others, booing and shouting down medical professionals who came to the Neosho City Council meeting to offer information. It was a public session and comments were taken from both sides. Whatever happened to the concept of both sides providing their facts and viewpoints, listening respectfully to each other and then allowing the governing body to make a decision.

If you don't agree with that decision, organize an e-mail or phone calling campaign, picket, line up opposing candidates for the next election, but for God's sake, let the elected officials conduct the public's business.

There was a time when it was enough for people who were concerned about a particular issue to simply attend the meeting. It was a good sign that those people were upset. Now they become active participants in the meetings, booing and making derisive comments while council members are speaking.

If you want to be an active participant in a city council meeting, run for the City Council. If you are unhappy with someone who is sitting on the council, back an opposing candidate. If that person wins, he or she can be the active participant.

Attending city council meetings is a good thing if the idea is to see how your government operates (or doesn't operate) or to show your interest in a particular issue. People who are attending because they want to be part of the show is not a good thing.

That being said, while the crowd making the conducting of public business difficult is a problem, that problem worsens when the elected officials encourage rowdy behavior.

Consider the actions of Carthage City Council member Tiffany Cossey, who spared no opportunity to play to the audience Thursday.

"The mayor (Dan Rife) is holding the entire city hostage," Cossey said and whether she is right or wrong about that, there is nothing wrong with her saying that to the audience at City Hall or those who were watching at home.

It's what Cossey said next that was out of bounds.

"Just by a show of hands or applause, how many of you think the mayor is holding the city hostage?"

Naturally, the crowd whooped and hollered. It would have been bad enough if it it had done so on its own, but it did so by the express invitation of a council member who should have known better.

There is a difference between being a public servant and an entertainer. I would explain the difference to Cossey but I am not a lawyer and like everyone who has watched one of these meetings knows, Cossey is a lawyer.

And if you think you might forget she's a lawyer, don't worry about it.

She'll be happy to remind you.

Cossey correctly noted that voters, by a large margin, approved the changes on the council that set the stage for Thursday night's special council meeting, the beginning of an effort to impeach the mayor and the vote to remove City Administrator Greg Dagnan.

In other words, there are enough votes that Cossey and the newly elected council members can begin implementing the actions they promised during the campaign.

The best way for you to do that, or try to do that, is to make sure the meetings are civil, that public business can be conducted and stop encouraging bad behavior by the people whose support you already have.

How long is it going to be before we can't find sensible, qualified people to run for public office and we're left with grandstanding showboats who appear to be more interested in playing to the audience than serving the public?

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