Political Theatre at its Best (or Worst, depending on how you look at it)

I just got home from the city council meeting tonight, and if you want to see city hall in action, this is the place to be. I am fascinated about the business that is conducted there and want to learn more about the process. And now, the process is more open to all of us than ever before.

At 6:30, I walked into Room 402 to listen to the discussion about broadcasting city council meetings on cable TV. Seth, a downtown Lynn resident, had already set up his camera and was videotaping the proceedings. I strongly suggest you go to Lynn Happens and watch it for yourself. The three councilors who were against public cable access--Cyr, Trahant, and Ford--introduced more than 30 stipulations to the proposal. A heated debate followed, the fallout of which was that the proposal was sent out of committee to be voted on that night.

Later that night, during discussion of the proposal in council chambers, councilor at-large Flanagan-Kennedy essentially lambasted the stipulations, calling them ludicrous. Indeed, some of these stipulations may be against open meeting law and only set up obstacles to fulfilling its intent. One of them requires LynnCam to pay for the electricity they use; another implements a "kill switch" so that the broadcast can be terminated at any time. Still another one severely limits rebroadcast of the meetings.

The genie is now, finally, out of the bottle, though. I left before a vote was taken; however, I think the proposal will be passed stipulations and all. I want to thank Seth for performing the public service of taping this meeting and exercising his (and our) rights to see it.

In contrast, during a different committee meeting, a councilor declared that the issue at hand should be discussed in private. Everyone at the table moved into a different room and closed the door. After several minutes, they emerged, sat at the table and passed whatever it was unanimously without another word. I admit I wasn't paying attention to what was at stake; I have no idea what this private meeting was about. Yet, one wonders why it was necessary to go behind closed doors.

The fate of My Brothers Table and the homeless shelter was also being decided at this meeting. The committee decided to approve the mayor's new lease terms, which seem calculated to make them move out of their present downtown location. Some of these terms, such as the requirement that certain shelter resident records be made available to the police, may be against federal HIPPA laws. The ban on Alcoholic and Narcotics Anonymous meetings is misguided.