Should City Councils be Nonpartisan? A Resident Weighs In

RESPONSE 1: Donna Sue, District 4 Pkb

In theory, making City Council a non partisan kinda deal would be amazing. In reality, if you put makeup on a pig, it is still going to oink. Humans are fickle creatures that seem to like labels, even if it means changing what the label means. I've seen many claim to be a Republican or a Democrat, yet once elected, their voting records or sponsorship of bills reflect anything.

What our city needs is less restrictions affiliated with the City Council, especially in reference to the meetings. What we are seeing right now looks to be an authoritarian strong hold on the legislative process. We have a clique of individuals that claimed they wanted to represent the constituents of their district, then voted to gag their peers during the meeting by removing Council Forum, and also voted to gag their constituents by restricting topics allowed to be discussed during Public Forum.

Citizens are outraged and will continue to push back because they feel the Council Representatives are alienating them, and power tripping for lack of a better phrase, and I have to agree. Just because a public servant can do something doesn't mean they should. One has to wonder what topics they are trying to keep out of the public forum by limiting topics.

Could it be they do not want to hear from the employees of the city anymore? That's some BS because their raises are dependent on the legislative process. How can one have pride in their city if they are an employee and then a panel of 9 that have very little idea of what they actually do for the city now decide when they feel it is appropriate that they deserve a raise?!? That should fall under the supervisor's responsibility and be a yearly evaluation. It is not fair to have cost of living adjustments recognized at a national level, yet we keep our employees stuck at a rate until whenever...potentially years until someone reminds these folks that they can't afford basic necessities. Again. Supervisors like Department Heads should have that say, as they are the ones who present budget requests and know their employees and needs best....

Or could it be the fact that a former Parkersburg City Council Rep has asked for accountability within the Police Department for an accident that claimed his son's life? I have seen in videos of past Council meetings, after JR Carpenter was no longer a sitting Council Rep, ASKING for accountability from misteps in the investigative process of an accident that claimed his son's life. This is something from his words he seems to be trying to make sure what went wrong with his son's case is addressed to be sure it doesn't happen in future cases, and that is commendable. Most people would run and sue without trying for a change in process only caring about themselves, but this man has tried to get the issue fixed and now all of the sudden he can't speak on the topic in Public Forum as it is not on the agenda. Coincidence? I very highly doubt it.

City Council meetings on the regular are dull and just small ordinances and resolutions to keep things moving in the city. They are important, don't get me wrong, but past history can show very few people would attend or even speak in Public Forum, yet a majority decided because they could change it they should, and that is morally wrong in my opinion. That is where it is evident there is a clique in place, as if the ones who chose to abruptly adjourn the last meeting didn't already make that obvious, in the videos there are blank stares looking around at each other kind of like they are trying to find the leader to make a movement. It smells of an orchestrated event, and that's fine. It showed the general public what a few of us already knew. Some that are in those seats do not care about what the citizens think.

How does the City of Parkersburg thrive from here? City Council Representatives can't even use Council Forum for up to 3 minutes to put on the record, recorded in the minutes, what concerns their constituents have nor the progress they have in their districts, nor any positive feedback. Elected officials who are supposed to care about our city and be good stewards of our tax dollars did this. These representatives all but asked for the outcry from their constituents. They also have the power to be honest that they made a mistake and introduce/sponsor legislation to reverse previous actions on Council and Public Forum so meetings can get back to being focused on moving forward positively in Parkersburg.

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RESPONSE 2: Chris Smith, District 6 Pkb

I think the bigger issue isn’t a partisan issue, but a visibility issue. We can say something is non-partisan, but unless a survey is conducted by the city and a vote is forced by the wants and desires of the constituents, some personal opinions will always trickle in.

What is needed more is visibility. What do possible council people actually think and believe? Where does their heart lie? Does the newspaper conduct in depth interviews on all potential candidates before elections? Do local elections/media handle or operate debates or town halls for those running? Information needs to be at someone’s fingertips to make informed decisions instead of voting based on name recognition, history, or the old “he’s a friend of a friend’s uncle.”

Should the council operate itself solely as a voice of the people? Of course. But we get to that point by electing those in that have a true heart of and for the people. And how do we know that? We learn all we can about those running before they get to office.