Recently the Starkville Board of Aldermen agenda included a proposal from none other than Alderman Lisa Wynn to severely restrict the citizens’ ability to exercise free speech during board meetings.
Let me hasten to say there is no legal requirement for municipalities to provide a citizen comment section during their meetings, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t in the interest of good government to do so.
Her proposal was a blatant attempt to rid the board of us pesky outspoken citizens. It required you to turn in your request on Thursday before the city’s agenda came out on Friday. The message I get from that rule is that she doesn’t want to hear from you about what issues she may be about to vote on.
It is also significant that the request has to be signed and delivered to city hall. Not a hard thing for me and some others, but for those who have 8-to-5 jobs or are without transportation, or easy access to technology it is burdensome, bordering on impossible.
Ms. Wynn’s proposal generated prolonged social media activity that led to a good-sized audience ready to speak against this proposal. Predictably, she decided to pull that item from the agenda. Since she didn’t say, I can only guess it was due to the number of people ready to use their endangered citizen-comment time.
Good news? Not necessarily; I have learned over the past two years that when Ms. Wynn encounters resistance early on, she drops back and punts, but she eventually works some deal to get to the end zone.
Not this time, I hope.
It is a battle worth fighting if for no other reason than for Mr. Turner.
I researched and had planned to stand and discuss, among other things, Starkville’s long and proud history of allowing citizen comments during its board meetings. My digging turned up a positive and unassailable track record for our support of regular, open communication.
In preparing for this assault on free speech I searched the minutes of the Starkville board meetings. What I found was over 40 years of people bringing their concerns to board meetings. Most significant was Mr. Alvin Turner’s history of coming to board meetings that included every bit of those 40 years.
That track record is in evidence at every board meeting as Mr. Alvin Turner stands to approach the table. He serves as among other things, Starkville’s sentinel of good government. Mr. Turner deserves support and a dedicated defense against Ms. Wynn’s attack on his ability to carry on his mission of sharing issues with the Board of Aldermen.
Starkville’s first Chief Administrative Officer, P. C. (Mac) McLaurin, who started with the city back in 1975, said Mr. Turner has been coming to Board meetings at least since then.
While Ms. Wynn may not be specifically targeting Mr. Turner, he would undoubtedly be collateral damage. That is unacceptable.
There is far more than the years of attendance that make Mr. Turner’s dedication amazing and admirable. Mr. Turner doesn’t drive. We have city-wide bus service now, but before that he walked everywhere he went.
Mr. Turner also has some physical challenges that would be daunting to a lesser man, but he lets nothing deter him from addressing citizens’ concerns to the Board. He makes a regular appearance at the Starkville Board of Aldermen meetings. Those of us who attend take special note if Mr. Alvin isn’t in attendance.
Even if electronic submission was an option, without the sophisticated technology to scan and send a signed copy, Mr. Turner would not be able to meet that requirement. He deserves the chance to be heard, and we deserve the chance to hear him.
Frequently Mr. Turner is the only speaker during Citizen Comments. His three minutes of telling the board what concerns him is a small price to pay for that 67% raise they recently voted for themselves.
Perhaps it is Mr. Alvin Ms. Lisa was targeting.
We never officially heard why Ms. Wynn wanted to shut people up, and we probably won’t know when she will make the next run at that make-believe issue. I am guessing it won’t go away until after the next municipal election.
For now, the price of open government communication is eternal vigilance, if not for ourselves, then for those who actually need and use it like Mr. Turner.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.