Cole, David to lead South Tahoe council
By Kathryn Reed
South Lake Tahoe is moving forward with continuity and change when it comes to city leadership.
While it is normal for the mayor pro tem to take on the roll of mayor, that could not happen this year with Brooke Laine not being re-elected.
At the City Council meeting on Dec. 9 it was agreed that Hal Cole will continue as mayor and Wendy David will be mayor pro tem.
Cole started the discussion by saying instead of just nominating someone he would prefer those interested in the two positions say why they wanted it.
Cole, Tom Davis and JoAnn Conner each wanted to be mayor. Conner’s belief is that the position should rotate and that newcomers should not be in either leadership role.
Her colleagues said the mayor and mayor pro tem need to be a person who treats their fellow members and the public with respect.
Voting for Cole were: Cole, David and Austin Sass. Davis and Conner voted for Davis.
When it came to mayor pro tem, David, Davis and Conner expressed interest in the job. Davis and Conner voted for themselves, while the rest voted for David.
When it came time for the council to make the positions official, those were unanimous votes for Cole and David.
David pointed to her vast experience in running boards, being in the community as well as being the top vote getter on Nov. 4.
There is precedence of the top vote getter becoming mayor pro tem. This happened in 2010 when Claire Fortier was elected to the council with the most votes.
Both terms are for one year.
To set the record straight: I did not seek the Mayor position, I was seeking a better way of choosing the Mayor that reflected the true wishes of the voters, based on the votes each Council member received. I did not vote for myself in the vote for Mayor. Many citizens have expressed frustration at their Mayor being chosen not by them, but by who is friends with who on Council.
Ms. Conner:
Since SLT is organized as a general law city under California Government Code Section 34102 and thus uses a Council-Manager form of government the voters don’t have the ability to vote for a Mayor. The number of votes an elected City Council Member receives is legally irrelevant in this regard, plus I find it hard to believe that the voters in this community would even remember the number of votes any given Council Member garnered unless they were provided with a reminder of such.
4-mer-usmc: Yes, thank you for your input, I do realize the citizens do not vote for an actual Mayor, but many expressed unhappiness last year when the Mayor Pro-Tem was not even elected, but rather appointed. This year, Ms. David stated she was the “highest vote getter” and that’s why she thought she should be Mayor Pro-Tem, even though she is still very “green” hence the reference. It is actually not true, she received approximately seven hundred less votes than I. This is what I was asked by citizens to attempt to change, to make it more dependent upon the votes a Council member received from the voters instead of who has the most personal friends on Council.All elected Council members have their own story and their own talents to bring to those offices and many had said they were tired of seeing it simply passed between friends.
I agree with JoAnn that rotation is the best way to fill those positions, instead of cronyism. Plus, 4-Mer…. you would be surprised what members of this community remember!
Ms. Conner:
Going by the number of votes a candidate receives provides distorted information and is irrelevant. There are times that two Council Member seats are up for election and there are times when three Council Member seats are up for election; and there are elections when four candidates run for office and times when eight candidates run for office. With a voting constituency that remains at a fairly flat number of people your suggestion just doesn’t pencil out and is an ineffective measurement for comparison.
I remember the December 10, 2013 Council meeting when Davis was the outgoing Mayor, Cole was the incoming Mayor, and Swanson said she had no interest in being Mayor Pro Tem since she’d announced her candidacy for EDC Supervisor. That left only Laine and yourself in the selection of Mayor Pro Tem and when Hal Cole recommended Brooke Laine as Mayor Pro Tem you were extremely unhappy and mounted a rather aggressive argument against that appointment. Your disdain for Brooke Laine was painfully obvious from that day forward all the way up to the end of Laine’s Council service, and it was unpleasant to watch and it appeared unprofessional.
While some may consider these selections cronyism what it comes down to is the majority selects who they want to have Chair their meetings and represent the City. I believe the Council Members at the December 9, 2014 meeting very eloquently explained their individual criteria in their selection processes for Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem and think that your trying to change the rules to what you want is an attempt to accommodate your desires, thus providing a further example of why they didn’t select you.
If the citizens of this community are as concerned as you say then maybe you and they should focus on changing the organization of SLT from a general law city to a Charter City.
JoAnn,
Easy for you to play Wednesday morning quarterback and say you did not want to be mayor. And revisionist history doesn’t work when it’s on tape.
People should listen for themselves: http://slt.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=6&clip_id=724 Go to about 15:17 into the meeting.
You said you want to shake things up, that the mayor post should be rotated, that newcomers should not get it (Wendy David-Austin Sass) and that it should not be rotated between two people (Hal Cole-Tom Davis).
That leaves you as a contender.
The story says you did not vote for yourself.
Kathryn Reed, LTN publisher
JoAnn, the Representative Republic style of government relies on the elected representative’s ability to set aside their own interest and vote for the common good.
You are publicly stating that the City Council that you serve on lacks the requisite professionalism to do that and will vote their interest and friendships.
That’s pretty scathing.
4-mer-usmc: I appreciate your insight. The number of votes is relevant to the voters, even though it varies by the number of candidates and registered voters.
My main reason for opposing Laine’s appointment to ProTem was she was not elected by the people.That is an insult to the voters, to anyone who has ever taken the time and expended the energy to run, and to the process. I don’t think you should not be handed an honor because of your name, no matter what you do. If Tom Davis or Angela Swanson had been selected, that would have been acceptable.
I still say the process is greatly flawed,has caused bad feelings on the Council through the years, and perpetuates the phrase “good ‘ole boys.” Even though I will never be Mayor, I still contend it should be rotated, it should never go to someone who was not elected, and it should not go to brand new Council members who don’t have a grasp of the issues.If they did not like me, it should have gone back to the other experienced person, Tom Davis. After a year of experience, it could have gone to Wendy, then Austin, which is part of what I suggested.
I know some thought I was too cold to Laine, but at least I am not a phony. I have worked hard my entire life for every honor, award, or raise I got and it is distasteful to me to see people who have done nothing to earn something being handed an honor or award because of who they know. On the one hand, some say I am too straight forward, on the other, people tell me frequently I am the only champion of the little people and minorities on our Council and that I am the only one who really understands and fights for them.
My reason for wanting to be Mayor, as you must have seen, was to be an example to all the people who have ever been poor, hungry, started with nothing, survived terrible life experiences, or have worked two and three jobs to get a step up. I always tried to teach my students, children, and grandchildren that if you work hard, you can get ahead and achieve your goals.
JoAnn,
How within hours can you write on this forum:
“To set the record straight: I did not seek the Mayor position …”
and then “My reason for wanting to be Mayor…”
And your posts on Facebook are childish, unprofessional and insulting to the citizenry of South Lake Tahoe.
A Voter
Moral: I am sorry you feel that way. As I state in my post above, I still support a better process for selecting the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem. Proposing what many have told me would be a better system is a suggestion from the people that can obviously be accepted or not.
Informed: I did not want to be Mayor this year, but perhaps next year. My Facebook page is private, and the comments I made were general, without names. Please do unfriend me if you find my personal thoughts offensive.
Doesn’t any thing change around here regarding our local politicians?! These two guys(Cole/Davis) have been in power for 20 some odd years! I know most of us have short memories and politicians count on this. But didn’t Cole earn the name “Cole’s Hole” due to not checking proper contractor licensees, etc. for this project thus the “Hole” for years under his watch?! I also remember during the redevelopment phases that a cool $6,000,000 from the redevelopment fund went missing and Cole was assigned to over see this project.
Perhaps someone could enlighten me, but something smells fishy.
Kae: I also believe I stated I wanted to be Mayor Pro Tem this year, before the vote. That was my intention. I’m sorry if there was a misunderstanding.I was clarifying my feelings on the topic; it was not a criticism of your reporting.
Politics, ain’t it grand!!!
Ms. Conner, please continue your dialogue….this is becoming very entertaining.
Ms. Conner:
Brooke Laine was appointed as Mayor Pro Tem by a majority of the then sitting City Council Members but you apparently have your own interpretation of how you think a majority is determined and from experience I know that once you’ve decided on something there is no reasoning with you. It is disturbing that you don’t recognize how offensive and defaming your public accusations are that the only interest of your brethren Council Members on the last City Council and on this current City Council is in their friendships and cronyism, but then that speaks volumes to your uncouthness. The person(s) selected to lead should be the most qualified and they should be able to get along with others, of which you have amply demonstrated you are incapable.
And for the record, my Mother and Father legally emigrated our family to the U.S. from Europe in 1956 with less than $200 in their pockets. My Father was 48-years old at the time, my Mother was 43-years old, and I was the youngest child at 13-years old, and none of us could speak a word of English. We were poor, we were hungry, we all worked hard and we all worked at multiple jobs, and we also had to learn to speak English and learn to cope with life’s difficult experiences (or what you call “surviving terrible life experiences”). You don’t have the lock on humble beginnings so stop wearing that poverty BS like a badge and that you’re the only one who ever had it hard or had to work hard. You’d set a better example if you conducted yourself with some poise and decorum.
unfortunately, ms. conner’s petty, small-picture, and irrational mindset largely reflects that of the SLT electorate.
Forestdweller,
There was never any missing money. The now defunct Redevelopment Agency borrowed about $7 million from the General Fund, which incrementally has been paid back. It will be paid back in full per how the state set up the dissolution of the agency and assets.
What was suspicious is that this borrowing was never disclosed until well after the fact, and that some council members at the time said they never knew it was going on.
Nothing illegal has ever been found to have occurred.
Kathryn Reed, LTN publisher
Interesting topic and comments! After reading these comments, some of you make good points, while others are…well…just kind of out there. In response to one comment from “informed.” What is childish, unprofessional and insulting to the citizenry of SLT is putting a person in the seat of Mayor Pro Tem who has no experience. I’ve checked with my old home town (a real city) out of curiosity and asked what they require for the position of Mayor Pro Tem. The response…”We recommend that any council member who wishes to take the seat as Mayor Pro Tem serves on the city council for at least one year!” We should be no different.
It amazes me that our city can take a “fresh” council member and give this position to them. I will also agree with JoAnn’s idea of rotating our mayors after they’ve served. Why? It’s simple. When we keep the same mayors, they keep doing the same old things. Ask any visitor to our town who are mayor is and they will say “it’s either Tom or Hal or….” This question is not a Jeopardy question for $500, Alex. It’s embarrassing. I for one have friends that visit who are involved with their City. They always laugh and say “did you guys not learn from the first time around with so and so? Do you NOT have other people that want to run for Mayor? Are the people of Tahoe that far behind? Etc.
In closing. Fresh faces bring fresh ideas and new growth to our area. Old faces and the same old networks…brings, holes that take years to fill! Have a great day!
The biggest problem is, everyone complains about the city and the council members and the same old, same old . But when elections come around, not enough voters who want something new actually vote. The same old, same old always vote and always win. You want change, your friends and neighbors want change, then get off the couch and go vote!!
Kae Can hardly wait for the tell all book. OUR LIFE ON THE BOARD By HAL and TOM
Forward!Into the Past!