I was really glad to have been present at last evenings City Council meeting in Vancouver, Washington. It wasn’t the first time I was present at council meeting nor will it be the last. But, last night I was there to witness some interesting comments, both from a citizen and from council. After seeing council members fix blame for an egregious outburst of council member Jeanne Harris last September, here and here, I sat and listened as Tonya Rulli, a “friend” of Mayor Leavitt, knowingly rose before public TV cameras and stated the following;
CVTV footage, obtained pursuant to the Public Disclosure Act, in no way is intended by CVTV, the City of Vancouver, or Clark County to either promote or oppose any candidate for public office or any ballot proposition
Ms. Rulli’s original ‘testimony’ available here, was laced with zingers, labeling people that oppose Portland’s Loot Rail “liars” and indicating that she doesn’t come to council meetings, after work hours, because unlike others, “she has to work.”
Like no one else in Clark County works?
It was even said that after the February 7, 2008 council meeting, she approached the Police Officer at the back of the room and said words to the effect of, “I really shot them down, didn’t I?”
If she in fact said that, it doesn’t sound like someone being “intimidated” to me.
She now says that she was “intimidated” because she “heard giggling” in the room during her testimony and when she went back to her seat, “someone turned around and looked at her.” If such actions actually happened and really were directed at her, she should be happy she wasn’t a returning Vietnam Veteran in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Maybe we could tell her about “real” intimidation.
I advocate free speech, within normal standards, meaning the crying fire in a crowded theater scenario, but if she was ever paying any attention to city council, actual intimidation has been coming from city council towards citizens, evidenced by the now famous “Gavel Down” incident of council member Jeanne Harris and subsequent efforts to limit speaking before city council at council meetings.
In fact, addressing those measures, Tonya Rulli, an accomplished Assistant District Attorney says she, “supports any changes that you can bring that would make attending and speaking at city council meetings a less adversarial and intimidating experience.”
Perhaps she could take her own advice and apologize to those people who speak in opposition to the project she so strongly supports for labeling them liars and insinuating they don’t work.
As an accomplished attorney, I am sure she knows more about “corroborating evidence” than I ever could. I’ve watched enough episodes of Perry Mason to know that allegations such as she mentions require such evidence. She presents none and relies solely upon her word, ignoring such intimidating tactics as Ms. Harris’ meltdown and efforts by her “friend,” Mayor Leavitt and the Columbian to stifle citizen voices in opposition.
Since the founding of our nation, nearly 1.5 Million American Citizens, ordinary people like you and I, have given their lives so that other ordinary people could stand before the ruling class and have our voices heard. More than double that number have suffered debilitating wounds and injuries to ensure that right continues.
After the outrageous behavior seen from city council towards citizens, for Mayor Leavitt to call upon his “friend” to trump up allegations of “intimidation” to excuse limiting or stifling those voices of ordinary taxpaying voters, completely invalidates the sacrifices those men & women have made.
Clark County Conservative 