Tuesday evening marked the end of a battle that should never have been fought. Among the casualties were the credibility of a few Starkville aldermen and lots and lots of hurt feelings on both sides of this minor, irrelevant and unnecessary skirmish of The Culture Wars.
When the smoke had cleared, the city of Starkville’s new “Plus-One” health insurance plan survived after an effort to overturn mayor Parker Wiseman’s veto failed Tuesday, thanks largely to the act on a single alderman, Lisa Wynn, who retired from the field by recusing herself from the vote. The 4-2 vote fell one vote short of what was needed to override the veto.
It marked the end of a sorry three-week spectacle that emerged when the alderman approved the city’s employee health-care plan, a plan that would allow city employees to add one adult dependent to their health insurance at the employees’ cost. That plan allowed coverage to same-sex partners of city employees. Interestingly, the plan was unanimously approved by the board on Sept. 2.
Since then, it went from a minor adjustment to an insurance plan to emotionally-scarring battle that pitted the LGBT community and its supporters against the community’s more conservative Christians.
A week later, alderman Ben Carver called for a vote to rescind the insurance plan, but could not get a second on his motion, due mainly to the fact that two of the aldermen opposed to the plan, Henry Vaughn and Roy A. Perkins, could not attend the meeting.
On Sept. 16, the efforts to rescind the plan succeeded after a bitterly contentious 4 1/2-hour meeting. By a 4-2 vote (the clearly-conflicted Wynn chose to abstain), the aldermen voted to rescind the policy, with David Little, Carver, Vaughn and Perkins voting to rescind. Scott Maynard and Jason Walker were opposed.
Wiseman vetoed the measure Friday, setting the stage for Tuesday’s final decision.
Citizens were allotted a half-hour to speak on the subject and two pastors provided their own 10 minutes each to make their cases. But it was clear that most everything that could be said on both sides of the issue had already been said as the aldermen, who had clearly settled the matter in their minds, listened in stoic silence.
The exception was Wynn, who was clearly torn between the two factions and her own personal views. Wynn addressed the board in an emotional 20-minute presentation that ended with a bag of Tootsie Pops, which she used to illustrate her inner conflict over the matter.
“When you buy a bag, you can’t pick and choose which ones you want,” she said. “I don’t care for the chocolate ones, but I can’t open the bag and pick out only the ones I like. You can’t pick and choose. That’s the same situation we have here tonight.”
Moments later, Wynn recused herself, left the meeting, returning only after the decisive vote.
Wynn’s refusal to vote proved the death-knell of the override attempt.
The matter is closed, but the bitter rancor remains, especially where Little and Carver are concerned.
That’s unfortunate, unnecessary and counter-productive.
It’s a fight that never should have started.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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