No Changes At Taxpayer's League
Looks like the status quo remains after yesterday's meeting of the Humboldt Taxpayer's League and the petition filed by the rank and file to permanently end the lawsuit was ignored. Hard to say what will happen now. I suspect one thing has happened though: The League might well have lost much of its credibility with the press and the public as it will be perceived now as just an eight man board of directors that operates independently of the rank and file members. A group of eight or ten people that operates in private tends to have less credibility than a group of a hundred or more people that operate in the public eye.
While some accuse the local media of not giving enough coverage on the issue of conflict of interest, seems to me the press has been pretty supportive of the League and its purpose overall. Wonder if they'll stay supportive in the days to come?
posted by Fred Mangels @ 7:10 AM
5 comments
5 Comments:
Ha! I wouldn't be worred about credibility with the press. Our local press has no credibility. The Journal occassionally does right, but even it stinks. The Arcata Eye and McKinleyville Press are the most reputable papers in the county because they don't tow the party line. Heck, the Press even labels news releases for what they are instead of publishing them as if they were original reports.
How many members does HTL have? The petition has 60 signatures. Is that everyone? A majority? A vocal minority? What?
Asking HTL to permanently neuter itself by knocking out its teeth is patently absurd.
"A group of eight or ten people that operates in private tends to have less credibility than a group of a hundred or more people that operate in the public eye."
A least we would hope so in a democracy.
Are you saying the HTL board is a group of 8 or 10 people? Last time I heard, they held public meetings. They are a nonprofit, are they not?
Who are the 100 people? They had 60 signatures on their petition, did they not?
If ya'll think the board members should be replaced, then vote them out. If ya'll think the lawsuit has no merit, debate the issue on its merits. Don't piss and moan and put up a dog and pony show for the media. Sure, the media will be your lackey and promote your show, but it won't pursuade the court system (or at least it shouldn't). At the end of the day, the critics have to grow up and debate the issues separate from their PR campaign.
I think I heard the figure 140 members being bandied about, although I may be mistaken. Most don't attend meetings (I've only been to two), as I suspect is true of most organizations.
Just received word from former Taxpayer's League President, Larry Henderson, that the League membership list he was given access to prior to the petition signing meeting showed 117 members, 9 of who are on the Board of Directors. Sixty members had signed the petition when it was presented to the Board of Directors and more people have asked that their names be added to the petition since then.
It is believed that more people have joined the League, since the special meeting. I've been told most joined the League to oppose Leo Sears and the lawsuit, although a few might well have joined in support. No way to say for sure.
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