OUR TURN: Squelching dissenters in Cottonwood Shores not democracy

The United States’ much-admired system of government is built on a premise that differing viewpoints are not only allowed but encouraged.

Our Founding Fathers believed that dissenters and the minority had an inalienable right to air, discuss and weigh their views against those in power in order to keep the wheels of liberty turning.

So why is this quaint notion lost on the members of the Cottonwood Shores City Council?

In one broad stroke Thursday night, a council member employed a little-used parliamentary rule that squelched all dissent before voting on a controversial park, silencing citizens who had come to speak that evening on the issue and leading some to leave the room in disgust.

While the council may have been following accepted procedural rules, what happened at the meeting did not bear any resemblance to democracy.

Councilwoman Janet Taylor-Carusi “called the question” — that is, called for a vote — before residents who were signed up to speak on the issue could air their views.

According to the councilwoman, comments made by residents Donald Orr and Roger Wayson against the new park at a March 18 meeting were “erroneous.” Oddly enough, the councilwoman did not attend that meeting. On Thursday night, she apparently didn’t want to let them air those views again.

Orr, a former councilman who is running again, has been a frequent critic of city leaders. But that’s no justification for not allowing him — or anybody else for that matter — to voice their dissenting opinions.

Usually during such meetings, residents are allowed to speak before a governing body’s final vote on an issue. But under parliamentary rules, a vote must be taken immediately once a council member calls the question, provided that motion is recognized by the chairman.

In this case, Mayor Bentley Martin — a frequent target of Orr’s barbs — wasted no time granting the councilwoman’s request.

The council subsequently voted unanimously to combine three city-held lots off Lakeview Drive and dedicate them as the proposed Aspen Athletic Park.

In the meantime, critics have concerns about the environmental health of the land. Orr has also argued the park property represents the city’s last real-estate asset.

He has said the value of the property could be used as emergency collateral for future loans.

It doesn’t matter whether he and the others are right or wrong. What matters is that they should be allowed to air their views in an open forum. That’s part of what makes American government so unique and special. To deny citizens the right to speak, even when their ideas seem contrary or flawed, is not democracy.

In this case, while the council members may say they want the public to get involved, it seems they only want certain people to voice their views.

It was wrong for the council to allow a parliamentary technicality to stand in the way of residents expressing their right to be heard.

All they had to do was listen to the dissenting views, then cast their vote. Nothing would have changed.

What happened sends the message the council is unwilling to listen to the concerns of certain members of the community. The reality of politics is the fact that the other side still has a say once you’re elected.

If you’re not going to allow residents to speak on every issue that concerns them, you might as well meet in secret. It’s not the American way.

Calling the question is a tactic that’s usually intended to end overlong debate. But the way it was brazenly used Thursday night shows that in this case, Carusi-Taylor just didn’t want to listen to Orr’s views.

Freedom is often messy, especially when it comes to the marketplace of ideas. But that’s how a democracy works, from the halls of Congress to the smallest board of selectmen.

The Cottonwood Shores council chambers should be no exception.

The Daily Tribune editorial board includes Dan Alvey, Amber Alvey Weems, Thomas Edwards, Daniel Clifton and Chris Porter.