<div dir="ltr">Bob -<div>Since you asked directly, yes, I am concerned... Concerned about what is happening with our town government. (PLEASE NOTE: I am writing here only in my role as a town resident, not in any way in my role as TownTalk List Moderator).</div><div><br></div><div>I have thought since moving here 10 years ago, that we, for being such a small town, are fortunate to have the dedicated, talented, and astute people we do willing to spend their time and energy conducting the affairs of town government, and, yes, representing all the residents of the town. I continue to feel that way. The matters that have been aired on this list by the mayor and, mainly, one current and one now former council member are distressing to me, especially since I not only know each of them and have considered them friends but more importantly because I trusted them and felt fortunate to have them as town officials. I never expected to witness the kind of conflict or hear the kind of accusations we are now hearing. And so yes, that is a serious cause for concern.</div><div><br></div><div>For personal and professional reasons, I just haven't had much time to devote to trying to fully understand the issues being discussed. And I have not had or made for myself the time to engage with any of the officials in an attempt to try to clarify any of the seemingly contradictory accounts that have been posted here. You have, Bob, and I commend you for that, and for openly sharing your questions and your findings here. Thank you.</div><div><br></div><div>As I read your post (below), Bob, it seems your question is asking directly about the Mayor's assertion that "We do not have a government run by an email list". I have to say that on this point I would wholeheartedly agree with the Mayor. Unfortunately, the participation on this list is not even remotely distributed across the town's six wards. Nor does it even represent well the residents of Wards 1, 2 and 3, where most people posting to the list (as far as I know - I don't actually have a list of subscribers, and certainly don't have their addresses). </div><div><br></div><div>I'm a numbers guy, so I couldn't help myself. Looking at the posts to TownTalk in the 15+ days of May so far, there are 97 posts. Of those 13 are official announcements (town, county, AHTA), 25 are personal announcements (business events, yard sales, lost/found dog, am I the only one whose FiOS is down? etc), 3 are what I call 'rolodex' questions (need a good tree trimmer), 21 are about town/community (but not government), mainly this month the Ravenswood Rd/children's safety thread). Finally there have been 35 posts about the town government affairs/issues. Those 35 posts have been posted by 4 officials (Mayor, CM representing Wards 1, 2 and 3) and 9 residents.</div><div><br></div><div>This is a much livelier-than-usual period as far as TownTalk traffic goes. But it can hardly substitute for an official meeting. Too many voices are not being heard here.</div><div><br></div><div>Dwight Holmes</div><div><br></div><div><br></div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, May 16, 2016 at 8:39 AM, bob smith <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:sfmc68@verizon.net" target="_blank">sfmc68@verizon.net</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">Bottom Line Up Front: I thought the Mayor and council were the duly<br>
elected representatives of the constituency but I do not see the wording<br>
below reflective of this public service.<br>
<br>
I saw this message for the first time yesterday. I am pasting in the<br>
section of concern.<br>
<br>
I am concerned about the public's ability to comment on matters up for a<br>
council vote at the time of consideration for a council vote before the<br>
vote occurs.<br>
<br>
I am concerned by the Mayor's comments about the right of the people to<br>
petition their elected representatives. I am concerned about the Mayor's<br>
comment indicating that public comment via an email list is impacting<br>
the role of the elected government in their role of representation.<br>
<br>
This is excerpted from the message available at this link:<br>
<br>
<a href="http://riverdale-park.org/pipermail/towntalk/2016-April/019603.html" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://riverdale-park.org/pipermail/towntalk/2016-April/019603.html</a><br>
<br>
"[RP TownTalk] Town management, finances and legislation<br>
Vernon Archer varcher at <a href="http://gmail.com" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">gmail.com</a><br>
Thu Apr 28 09:49:30 UTC 2016<br>
<br>
Previous message: [RP TownTalk] 3-Year Tax Base Trend<br>
Next message: [RP TownTalk] Town management, finances and legislation<br>
Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ]<br>
<br>
Friends and neighbors,<br>
<br>
I write to address the email Council Member Ebbeler sent recently under<br>
the title "Executive Order/Town's Financial Position." I share the<br>
belief that the issues discussed are important, but the facts that I and<br>
the rest of the council know are very different.<br>
<br>
1. Let me start by stating that we have a town government that functions<br>
as a deliberative body meeting at regular times in Town Hall. The<br>
meetings are open to the public and provide opportunities for people to<br>
comment and ask questions at every meeting. We do not have a government<br>
run by an email list."<br>
<br>
Sincerely,<br>
Bob Smith<br>
5001 Riverdale Road<br>
Ward 3<br>
_______________________________________________<br>
TownTalk mailing list<br>
To post to the list, send mail to <a href="mailto:TownTalk@riverdale-park.org">TownTalk@riverdale-park.org</a><br>
<a href="mailto:TownTalk-request@riverdale-park.org">TownTalk-request@riverdale-park.org</a> is for automated subscription processing only<br>
<a href="http://riverdale-park.org/mailman/listinfo/towntalk" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://riverdale-park.org/mailman/listinfo/towntalk</a><br>
<br>
For more information about Riverdale Park, visit <a href="http://www.riverdaleparkmd.info" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://www.riverdaleparkmd.info</a><br>
</blockquote></div><br></div>