Two out of the five members of the Saratoga Springs City Council refused to sign Mayor Valerie Keehn’s pledge of civility, saying it was `meaningless` without the willingness to enforce the existing Code of Conduct.
Public Works Commissioner Thomas McTygue and Accounts Commissioner John Franck declined to sign the pledge Keehn brought to the table at the Tuesday, Feb. 6, meeting. Keehn first mentioned the pledge in her State of the City address Sunday, Feb. 4.
It reads: `We, your elected officials, will conduct ourselves professionally and with civility toward the public and each other at all times.`
Keehn had already signed her copy at the outset of Tuesday night’s meeting, as did Finance Commissioner Matthew McCabe and Public Safety Commissioner Ron Kim. But when discussion on the proposal was asked for, Franck said the pledge was unnecessary because of the existing rules of conduct that were established by former mayor Michael Lenz.
`To me it’s a meaningless clause,` said Franck. He said that if the existing rules were not followed, the pledge was not going to be of any additional help.
In recent meetings, exchanges between members of the public and the council have escalated to shouting matches.
Franck said when Lenz was mayor, if a member of the public was unruly, he or she would be escorted out and asked not to return for a while. That part of the code of conduct was amended under Keehn last April, he said.
Franck and McTygue also said the mayor needs to be more aggressive in using the gavel, whether it be toward a member of the public or one of the council members. `If you don’t hear the gavel, I don’t see where a civility clause is going to help you,` said Franck.
As for the council members’ conduct, Franck added: `Either we act right or you’ll get rid of us anyway.`
McTygue agreed that the clause was pointless, and took issue with how it was presented. By bringing the pledge up at the State of the City address and introducing the pledge on her agenda, McTygue said, the mayor made it appear as though the rest of the council were the problem.
`Every single one of us ` including you, Mayor ` is guilty of violating the rule of conduct. I know you have a history of teaching, but we’re not your students,` he told Keehn. `Do we get a gold star if we sign it?`
Public Safety Commissioner Ron Kim and Finance Commissioner Matt McCabe signed, saying there was no harm in showing willingness to want to work together.
Kim said there has been a decline in the quality of debate in this country ` regardless of the issue ` and said there needs to be a movement back toward good, intelligent discussion.
`We’ve really replaced passion for those values with sometimes just downright meanness,` he said. `We’re all going to fail because we’re human, but while we may fail, having this aspiration is a good thing.`
`I couldn’t sign this fast enough,` said McCabe.
Resident Kyle York said he appreciated the passion and vigor with which some commissioners conducted themselves.
`At times, it’s only human, and it’s only right,` he said. `I’m pretty sure Patrick Henry didn’t mumble when he said, ‘Give me liberty or give me death.’` “