City manager vote rigged?
To the editor:
Each and every citizen of Cape Coral should take the time to read this article as it will affect each and every one of you some day, some way. For those of you who missed Monday’s, June 7, council meeting, you missed a hurried, last-minute citizen who rushed in to express his concerns at the end of “Citizen Input.” After introducing himself, this gentleman began to inform council of a prior meeting, set back on Oct.10, 2009. During this council meeting a man by the name of “Gary King” stepped up to the podium and addressed the mayor who, at that time, was Mayor Burch. Mr. Gary King addressed the collective bargaining contracts, which at the time were being presented for contract approval and vote by council. Mr. King questioned the negotiation process of these contracts and noted his concerns regarding the fact that campaign contributions were made by the union to a sitting council members’ campaign. These union campaign donations came from the “International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, Local 2301,” the current union for city employees, and the sitting council member was Mayor Burch. Mr. King’s concern was, how could the mayor, who had accepted campaign funds from an entity which is up for vote, legally or morally sit and vote for three different motions to approve the collective bargaining agreements for Blue Collar, White Collar and the Supervisory Unit of the employees of the City.
After Mr. Gary King’s expressed concerns were finished, Mayor Burch, out of concern, asked City Attorney Menendez if there was or could be any conflict of interest as it pertained to Mr. King’s statements. She reported the only reason one should abstain from a vote was when there was a conflict of interest by “personal gain or private loss.” At this time Councilmember Peter Brandt noted that in his opinion it was a perceived conflict of interest and asked that Mayor Burch “abstain” from voting on all three collective bargaining motions. Prior to the vote, Mayor Burch stated he would abstain from all three consent agendas, after which Councilmember Brandt moved the motion into vote and the motion’s carried.
After this scenario was presented to council, the gentleman then proceeded to inform all council members that Mr. Gary King himself, as verified by public record, had contributed financially to the campaign funds of our now-sitting mayor, Mr. John Sullivan. Therefore, the citizen explained, he felt that it was again, a blatant and obvious “conflict of interest” for Mayor Sullivan to have a vote as it pertained to any candidate currently seeking the position of city manager for Cape Coral. It was further expressed that Mayor Sullivan follow the past actions of then-mayor Burch and abstain from voting for the city manager’s seat. Funny thing isn’t it?
Mr. Gary King, for this most important position, was thrown into the pot of applicants who were current or previous city managers, assistant city managers, are current holders of master’s degree’s in management and Political Science, yet it is felt that Mr. King could some how stand up to these qualifications in such a way that it far better for our city of Cape Coral.
Citizens of the Cape, does this remind any of you of the escapades that encompassed the last-minute addition of our newest council member? Thrown into a group of individuals that were “over qualified” for a council seat that they said would allow them to invest their efforts into making our city strong again regardless of the extra time and hardship they may endure. Then you got a vote from the “Fame Five” that put their fruits of labor to work and voted in the “least qualified” of the group. Now here is the really sick stomach- turning facts of this council and the way that it works. Newly elected Councilmember Eric Kuehn made a substantial monetary contribution to the campaign funds of Mayor John Sullivan. Can you guess who Mayor Sullivan voted for as it pertained to the new seat on council? Not very hard to figure out is it? Nor is it very hard to figure out the “Alternative Motives” of these, now five individuals. Get the majority, run the city, better yet, get the manager “Own the City.”
The only good that will come out of this “Majority Council’s” activities is the fact of knowing, that “what goes around comes around,” and remember gentlemen, when you keep taking rope and more rope, “You will eventually hang yourselves!”
J. Christian
Cape Coral
(Editor’s note: the above letter was submitted before Thursday’s council vote.)