The Columbia County Board of Supervisors held its monthly meeting last night. The previous day, six members of the Board of Supervisors issued an open letter calling for the resignation of Matt Murell, chairman of the board, alleging that he "engaged in unethical and potentially unlawful conduct" to block the petition for a referendum on establishing an elected county executive. A press release from the Columbia County Democratic Committee, published below, describes what happened at the meeting last night.
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| Photo: Columbia County Democratic Committee |
Columbia County Supervisors Chair Stifles Discussion of County Executive Plan
The chair of the Columbia County Board of Supervisors cut off discussion of a plan to create a county executive at a packed Wednesday night board meeting, shutting down a move by some Democratic members to censure him over his drive to deny voters a more modern and efficient form of county government.
The action by Chair Matt Murell, a Republican, came as about 100 voters in the chamber called for him to step down from his post, a proposal backed by the Columbia County Democratic Committee.
Murell repeatedly interrupted Democratic board member Tistrya Houghtling, the board's minority leader, as she attempted to describe why Murell should be censured for his actions in throwing out a petition to establish an elected county executive. Several Republican supervisors joined their Democratic colleagues on a procedural vote to consider the censure resolution, though it failed.
Murell said that any discussion about the censure should take place in executive session, prompting the board to require the public to clear the room.
Houghtling, speaking after the meeting, said the censure discussion "should not have occurred behind closed doors. Our constituents and the public are our bosses, and they should be able to be part of a conversation that involves behavior that we believe is improper." What transpired in the executive session wasn't disclosed.
The petition was signed by nearly 4,000 Columbia County voters. Murell and the Republican-appointed board clerk denied the petition in July, using specious claims to reject about 1,500 of the signatures.
The Columbia County Democratic Committee filed a lawsuit challenging the signature counting. Murell then used taxpayer funds to hire a Republican-aligned special counsel to void the petition without gaining the Board of Supervisors' approval--a move that raises ethical and possibly legal questions.
Even more troubling, court testimony in the case showed that the taxpayer-funded special counsel prepared objections to the petition, a move that he and the clerk of the board later affirmed. A county resident who challenged the petition process on behalf of Murell was given the objections--pre-written--while in Murell's government office, another move that raises serious ethical and legal concerns.
Murell's actions on Wednesday once again show why the Columbia County Democrats believe he is unfit to chair the board.
"Last night was a stark reminder of why our county government is broken," said Sam Hodge, Columbia County Democratic Chair. "What Murell did was wrong--and he knows it--which is why he silenced his own colleague rather than allow a real debate. It's outrageous."
"Once again, the public was shut out with no opportunity to speak. This is not democracy, and it's exactly why we must change this system," Hodge added.
Murrell and his gang are doing a nice job of making the case against themselves. ~ PJ
ReplyDeleteNot long after the 7 p.m. start, Chair Matt Murell pushed the Board into executive session — against the votes of every Democratic supervisor — and left us waiting an hour.
ReplyDeleteIn bodies, the numbers were equal. In votes, they were weighted — and Murell knew exactly what he was doing.
This wasn’t “procedure.” It was control.
Tara -
DeleteColumbia County’s weighted voting system is required by the one person, one vote rule (constitutional doctrine).
The alternative to weighted representative democracy is equal-population districts.
Should there be districts that are redistricted frequently according to population shifts? See how Illinois, Texas and New York all get political with redistricting.
The current system honors the 1 resident 1 vote principle (via weighted representation) but allows for every town to have one person in the room where it happens. It is certainly imperfect, but no system is perfect.
Is the issue perhaps just the alleged corruption and insider politics?
You could do at-large representatives... but in those systems small-town influence often dwindles even more... which appeared to be your original concern.
I must say, even though I don’t support it, I give credit to “MAGA” Matt Murell for his Machiavellian political maneuvering. Tommy D could never! The true Power Broker of Columbia County.
ReplyDeleteI think there absolutely should be a legislature in Columbia county. My concerns stem from lack of representation and services for all of the smaller towns in southern Columbia county.
ReplyDeleteThe insider politics and evident corruption are just one (very ugly) piece of it.
As far as we know no one said there should not be a legilsature.
DeleteBut what do you propose? Do you want residents in small towns to have 2X the votes of residents in big towns?
And agreed on the "insider politics and evident corruption" -> why don't we fund the DA's office better so that they have time to go after corruption and not just DUIs and extreme violent crimes?