As promised: Truth and consequences

Fools rush in where angels fear to tread 

– Alexander Pope, An Essay on Criticism

There is momentum behind the movement to recall Pacific Mayor Cy Sun. Attorneys have been contacted and a group of people are in the process of looking for money to sustain the recall.

It’s time to play Truth AND Consequences.

First of all, the truth: 

Over the past several years, Pacific’s elected officials have been told repeatedly of abuses by city representatives which went unpunished. Even the governor got involved. People’s rights were violated. People who tried to address the council were disregarded, demeaned and in some cases threatened. When the council was told about, and even witnessed abuses, the members failed to intervene. (If any of the city’s public officials want to debate this with me, I’m prepared to lay out a string of facts that they really don’t want to confront.) The chickens came home to roost, resulting in the election of Mayor Cy Sun, and now there are some individuals who are outraged at his admittedly rough manner of operating. 

Some of them just can’t wait to get a recall election on the ballot.

The voters who elected Mayor Sun were not fickle; they were outraged. Running alone, he was underestimated and dismissed as a novice. He didn’t disagree, and after he surprised all his detractors by getting elected, he asked for support. Instead, he was confronted with sore losers. The incumbent claimed Mr. Sun wouldn’t last and one member of the council tried to make sure of that by bringing criminal charges down on his head with claims that he didn’t earn his war medals. The new mayor was insulted at the door by individuals he would have to work with. In this cesspool of acrimony, some department heads quit and others have been dismissed or put on suspension, and the city’s insurance carrier has cancelled insurance coverage effective Dec. 31, with the proviso it might change its mind if it sees marked improvement in the political and administrative health of the city. Meanwhile, Mr. Sun has circled the wagons and said he will not resign, and he will only leave office if he is recalled. Recalling him will take so long the city likely won’t have time to meet the insurance carrier’s demands. The recall backers know this, and yet they press on.

There is a variety of possible outcomes in this vitriolic situation. Let’s do what the military does: play some war games and consider the outcomes:

Game A: The recall builds momentum. $15,000 is tendered to hire a competent attorney to put an effective recall together. As the case builds, Cy Sun continues to hold out, but can’t find anyone who wants to work in a city with Pacific’s reputation. The split between council and mayor is matched by a growing rift in a populace torn by the infighting and the possibility the city will shut down. Fingers are pointed.  The recall succeeds. But the city loses its insurance coverage anyway, for lack of competent staff. At the risk of incurring personal liability, city officials quickly resign to protect their own personal assets. The city sustains a blow it cannot endure and disincorporates. The residents remain mad at each other for years. Some of the deep pockets that funded the recall benefit from the dissolution of the city.

Game B: Miraculously, new, competent staff are hired by the mayor despite the ongoing recall fight. The council confirms them. Mayor Sun is recalled anyway, and leaves town. The insurance carrier continues coverage at the same favorable rate as before. All the residents are happy with the outcome. Life gets better. A member of the council resigns to take the office of mayor, and the Tooth Fairy fills the new council vacancy.

Game C: The mayor is recalled; the city loses its current carrier, but continues to exist by acquiring a more expensive carrier which offers more limited coverage. Chastened by the higher cost of liability insurance and the diminished coverage, city officials have no choice but to adopt more professional standards and develop the backbone to enforce them. Adopting those standards is not easy, because the same individuals remain in office, they don’t want to admit they did anything wrong, and they have already demonstrated an inability to learn. The populace, following the wrenching recall fight and the disclosures that come from it, is split. Some favor the new arrangement, others are bitter and distrustful, particularly because of the higher operating costs for city government. Because of its history and the acrimony, Pacific city government remains less likely to attract qualified individuals to participate. However, it has no choice but to exercise caution for fear of higher insurance rates or no insurance at all. Because of its fear of losing insurance, it goes lightly on enforcement, and businesses push the limits.

Game D:The recall takes a back seat to an emerging community awareness.  The fight creates the opportunity for people to reconnect, and identify common interests, which become the core of community building. There emerges a cadre of community-minded individuals who are professional in their endeavor and selfless in their outlook and who are disgusted with the numerous abuses which led to the watershed election/recall.  A true community emerges not because it is the right thing to do, but because people have rediscovered and like each other. Their shared interests have a natural way of sifting out the exploiters so that the cream rises to the top. From this emerging community of committed individuals, leaders are identified who become the new corps of city government. The lessons learned last for a generation.

Game E: As the consequences of their actions become more apparent, the city’s elected officials realize that, just as in nuclear war, there are not going to be any winners. Apologies are offered – and accepted. In a sort of private “truth and reconciliation commission” action, a tacit understanding emerges that mistakes were made and then compounded through fear and ignorance. A good-faith effort is made by the leading antagonists to recognize shared interests and values, and to work together for the sake of the population being served by the city. Residents roused to action by the ongoing fight consider how close the city has come to the brink and they step back, gaining a new resolve to expect a higher standard of conduct from their leaders and a higher level of community participation by themselves. A community blog, run by the residents, not the government, emerges that ties the community together. Despite the $15,000 outlay, the recall effort is abandoned. Some of the donors realize it would have been cheaper to demand higher standards from their government. Others regret that the city didn't implode, so that they could live life unencumbered by regulation.

Game E, addendum: The Pacific population adopts a simple truth:  Regardless of what one military officer claimed during the Vietnam war, it isn’t necessary to destroy a town in order to save it.