Yes, there were petitions presented to the city clerk yesterday with 190-odd signatures on them to bring the question of the empty seat vacated by Steve Knepper when he was elected mayor before the voters. And yes, it rags me big-time to see us spending $1,200 or whatever to schlepp voting machines back here, hire people administer/count a special election and inconvenience citizens to run to the polls for one lousy vote. I like voting absentee, and I doubt that will be possible.
Yes, I am ragged big time and it has nothing to do with Sue Green Knepper, Bill Hosch or any other candidate. It has to do with naked power-grabs. As I write this, Russian is doing a Hilter--invading Ukraine, apparently to overturn the vote of the Ukrainian people and reinstate the Russian-backed government--that they had previously kicked out.
A year before President Barack Obama's term was over, Mitch McConnell used his power to steal Obama's Supreme Court nomination saying, "The people should decide." They had; but rather than allow the sitting president, as was the custom to appoint his candidate, McConnell held up the appointment and a year later Donald Trump filled the seat. Then...though McConnell had made loud noises about Obama appointing a justice with "barely" a year on his term, with six weeks left in Trump's, he pushed throught the appointment of Amy Coney Barrett. Two naked power-grabs.
Likewise, when the Cascade City Council appointed Sue Knepper, a mayoral candidate to a city council seat when the custom has been to install the next highest council candidate. These self-serving refusals to follow tradition are dangerous. Statistically, public opinion of the Supreme Court has suffered. People have less faith in it's decisions. Duh.
Ironically, spending the $1,200 and putting anyone other than Ms. Knepper on there won't make a lick of difference in the votes. Councilmen Delaney and Rausch seem unable to think independently of Kelchen, and newly-elected Councilwoman Oliphant has yet to show any courage or independence.
It's a hefty chunk of change and a pain in the butt to do it, but in the interest of stopping naked power-grabs, it is worth it because we can't govern ourselves if we don't have rules.
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