Decorum, please
To the editor:
On Wednesday Sept. 23, I watched and listened to the final budget hearing on Cape TV. After more than an hour of listening to public input, one could only come away with the opinion that most speakers had little to no idea of the process and the governing bodies that influence our taxes. One person thought her TRIM notice was the actual tax bill. Others complained about Save Our Homes which was approved by the voters in a state wide referendum in 1992. Many complained about their assessed property values, which the city has absolutely no jurisdiction to control.
It was disappointing to see the attempted mob rule mentality arise once again at this public hearing. This seems to be the prevailing thought in the minds of some residents who gather at public meetings and try to intimidate other’s input and undermine the out come of the meetings. This has gone on far too long, and I applaud the mayor and council for recessing the meeting after repeated requests were made to have order in council chambers.
Unfortunately, one city council candidate didn’t get the message or he simply didn’t care about rules and proper decorum. When asked by the mayor to stay on topic and address the council he insisted that he “had the floor” as opposed to the chairperson running the meeting. I am not surprised that this person had to be escorted out of chambers simply because he could not control himself. This same candidate sent me the following comment on Sept. 7, after reading my letter to the editor which was published on Sept. 5, in The Breeze. I have copied his comments word for word including his “syndrom” misspelling. I can only imagine what sort of responses this person might generate as a public official with a low tolerance of those who might dare to have an opinion differing from his. I think the last thing that is needed on city council is an immature hot head with an attitude.
“Mr. LePera, I am sorry your mental illness has progressed so rapidly, we all know it is terminal and for that you have our sympathy. Dementia is manifested in many forms, anger, hate and vitriolic language are not that uncommon although your condition is a prime example of the condition. You may have common dementia or Korsakoff’s syndrom, we will never know without a CAT scan. I wish you well in your predicament, it is a sad way to end. Chris Chulakes-Leetz”
His response can be found on the Cape Coral Daily Breeze web page;
www.cape-coral-daily-breeze.com/page/content.detail/id/509927.html?nav=5008
Mr. Leetz is one of the “road ahead” candidates. Please do not vote for him.
Ralph LePera
Cape Coral