all you need is love and money

Steve Ellis

I'll admit to having been something of an apologist for Mayor McCartt, but, frankly, Kanelips, I don’t give a damn. If people really wanted to go around looking for a conflict of interest in the mayor's office, they’d do better to look at her husband's real estate signs that dot downtown which, of course, has been promoted so heavily by the current city commission. I don't give a damn about that, either. If the quality of life in this town is going to improve someone's going to make money off it.

Obviously most Yellow Cityzens share my apathy about potential conflicts of interest in downtown, so it's doubtful that anybody but Kanelips will get their panties in a wad about this Texas Tech employment abstraction.

Will anyone point out the obvious?

City commissioners in this town-- including the mayor-- are paid $10 per meeting. That means that, if people in this town want full-time city officials, the pool from which they have to choose those officials includes the independently wealthy and no one else.

Not that the McCartts are po', but a regular person elected to the city commission has no choice but to work another job. And many jobs would involve potential conflicts of interest.

This is a companion issue to single-member districts which this blog has rightfully promoted. This city will never have diversity on the city commission until city officials are paid a living wage.

Since there seems to be no desire for that to happen -- and little desire for single-member districts -- we can only assume that Yellow Cityzens are perfectly happy to be ruled by the rich.

spacedark