Alder Thuy Pham-Remmele is trying to shake things up again. And it creates an interesting dilemma for the council members.
To reconsider, or not reconsider?
At the last meeting, Alder Thuy Pham-Remmele stormed out in a huff, threatening to quit and went home. Now, because she wasn’t at the last meeting when they voted on an item about her appointments, she wants the Common Council to reconsider. President Tim Bruer says 4 alders asked for reconsideration, but none of the people he says asked actually asked him (Verveer, Rummel, Rhodes-Conway), besides Alder Thuy Pham-Remmele.
You see, normally, if an alder wants to bring something up – with the notable exception of last year during the budget when Alder Clear shut me down – you exercise “aldermanic courtesy”, allow them to say their peace, vote and you move on. Its good government and democratic to let someone with a minority opinion speak, even when you disagree – and its fair to the public and the people that the alder represents.
In this case however, everyone knows Thuy is just going to screech about the Mayor only appointing her to one committee and taking her off the CDBG commission. First, no one wants to listen to what might come out of her mouth (even me, and I’m not the biggest fan of the Mayor) – except that it might be mildly entertaining and have a certain incredibility/horror factor. Second, it sounds like no one is going to change the appointments, so nothing will change. (Unconfirmed rumor has it some alders have offered her some of their appointments, but she has refused.) Plus, and probably most important, she had her chance to speak at the last meeting and chose to go home instead.
So, the person on the Council that complains about wasting time during serious policy debates, is now asking to waste the council’s time because she went was angry and home in the middle of the last meeting. Something about this seems a little off.
It will be interesting to see what alders do with this. I’m not sure how I’d vote. I’d likely vote to let her speak in the name of democracy, while holding my nose. Then plug my ears.
