Speaking at the City Meeting

I just finished speaking to the Cape Canaveral City Council tonight and thought everyone might be interested in hearing how it went.

First, it was very crowded. The fire department required many of us to leave the official meeting room and wait in the main hall. The meeting moved very slowly, and it took a long time to reach the public comment portion. Many people were waiting for their turn to speak.

I was forced to sit and listen to numerous people with sycophantic praises and did not get a chance to speak until around 7:30 p.m. While waiting, I realized that this was not the meeting for me. The council was not going to answer questions. Its members would only sit there silently, staring off into space while members of the public took turns speaking at the podium. I had arrived expecting to get answers to questions people had sent me, so I needed to adjust my strategy.

When my name was finally called, I had to walk briskly from the main lobby, through a hallway, and from the back of the meeting room to the podium. The entire time, my clock was ticking.

When I reached the podium, my first words were an apology for bringing a laptop with me when everyone else had simply walked up and spoken. I told them that it made me feel like a real dork, but I intended to quote the mayor and did not want to put words into his mouth. I added that perhaps this was the wrong meeting for me because I had expected to receive some answers, but the council was obviously not responding to anyone.

After struggling with the microphone due to my rush to the podium, I gave the group my name and address. I then explained that the mayor had posted the following message on Facebook last Sunday:

"Over the last few weeks, I've watched comments, rumors, and accusations circulate online about our City, our City Council, Staff, taxes, reserves, services, myself, and the future of our City."

I added that the mayor had followed that statement with several thousand more uninteresting words that were just plain boring.

The good news, I told Mayor Wes, was that I was there to help him put an end to these bothersome rumors. Perhaps if the council answered my questions, the rumors could finally be put to rest.

I asked the council, "Are we, the City of Cape Canaveral, in a financial situation that will require cutbacks and closures?"

I waited in silence and received no response. I told the council that I would assume its silence meant that this was not a rumor. I then slowly typed a note into my laptop while saying aloud:

"Okay. NOT A RUMOR."

Moving on, I asked, "Will the Community Center be closing?"

Again, I received no response.

"I guess that isn't a rumor either," I said. "That's another NOT A RUMOR."

This time, the crowd began to chuckle as I once again slowly typed their answer on my keyboard.

I then asked, "Will other city parks or facilities also be closing?"

Again, I paused while waiting for a response from the council members.

"That's one more NOT A RUMOR. Geez, Wes, I'm really having a hard time finding these rumors that have been bothering you. Are you sure there have been rumors?"

This brought more commotion and growing laughter from the crowd.

"Here's an easy one," I said. "I heard that the sheriff was called to investigate a crime related to the city's financial situation. You do know that the sheriff investigates crimes, right? That's what sheriffs do."

Nothing. No answer.

I typed another note while saying, "NOT A RUMOR. I'm really having a hard time finding these rumors. Throw me a bone, please, Wes. What are the rumors?"

Each time I said "NOT A RUMOR," the crowd's reaction grew. However, before I could ask my next question, the timer went off. My allotted speaking time had expired.

Before leaving, I turned toward the crowd and said, "I'm sorry. I just couldn't find any of these rumors that have been bothering Wes."

The applause and laughter from both the meeting room and the overflow area were loud and immediate. When I reached the overflow area, I announced, "I couldn't find a single rumor!"

My questions caused the council to do something unusual. It addressed the question about the sheriff's investigation. The city manager, who had initiated contact with the Sheriff's Office about investigating the missing funds, attempted to rebut my remarks by explaining what the sheriff could investigate. This took time away from further public comments, but the large group in the overflow area could hear him speaking through the video feed.

While he was speaking, I interjected to the crowd, "The sheriff investigates crimes. They aren't Arthur Andersen."

That, of course, brought more laughter.

In the end, however, it was a loss. It is clear that they intend to proceed with the closures and firings. They are still hiding behind the sheriff's investigation and refusing to answer questions about what has happened, or what will happen, to our parks and facilities because it is supposedly a matter "under investigation by law enforcement."

They are pathetic.