A Small Request for County Councilwoman Lisa Diller
Most of us have seen this grandstanding bit of business from Tom Gordon publicly calling for an apology from NCCo County Councilmember Lisa Diller for insisting on requests for information from the County Executive’s Office be provided when requested. Ms. Diller’s response here has been characterized as yelling — which it might be, it certainly sounds as though she’s extremely frustrated with the lack of communication and the selective release of information to Councilmembers. If you listen to the audio of that meeting, (start around the 10 minute mark) you hear one Councilman talk about the Administration spending money on events and photo ops the County doesn’t seem to have and not getting timely data on these budget expenditures. The rest of this discussion is specifically about the refusal of Gordon and the County Attorney to provide a briefing in Executive Committee during that Finance Committee on the Pike Creek appeal.
County Attorney Pepukayi tells this group that he has provided them documents when he has them. And he attempts to separate out the County Council as a client of the County and therefore not entitled to certain information on cases. This is a ludicrous position — when the government is sued, the County Council is not specifically excluded from these suits. This is basic governing 101, I think. They don’t necessarily need to be consulted on strategy (excepting money settlements, but all of that can be argued), but it is not the business of Tom Gordon or the County Attorney to decide what information the Council needs or does not need. Nor do they get to pick and chose which Council Members they communicate with. County Attorney Pepukayi’s response was just petty and ill-informed — and if you listen to the rest of the conversation, Council Attorney Carol Dulin, Councilmember Kilpatrick and others also remind Pepukayi that it is part of his job to be responsive to information requests. Those requests can be done in Executive Session, to try to shield sensitive information.
But it is clear to me that Councilmember Diller was responding to a clear case of Pepukayi trying to gin up a ration of bullshit (that somehow the County Council has no entitlement to legal details because they are not party to the suit) to deny the requested briefing to a room full of people who know what they’re responsibilities are and what their communication needs are. That ration of bullshit (and really it can be counted as mansplaining) was meant to “manage” these people into standing down from their requests — as though these people were not going to notice that their plain English request was being ignored. Frankly I get why any of them would be angry. Again, if you listen, it is the women in the room that set the County Attorney straight. And this grandstanding bit of business from Gordon is probably a reaction to his Attorney being thoroughly schooled by this group of women. It is Tom Gordon who should apologize to these people for condescendingly trying to play them as fools.
So here’s my request, Councilmember Diller — tell Tom Gordon to send his apology request to someone who might be interested in it. Because in this instance, he wasn’t delivering on his obligations to County Council, and his time would be better spent doing that rather than purveying this manufactured indignation.
Tags: Featured, Lisa Diller, NCCo
Were I Diller, I’d tell Gordon that I will take his demands for decorum more seriously once his chief of staff stops getting in public scraps and scrapes.
My favorite part of the letter:
““Though my staff maintains a professional, working relationship with most members of County Council, your actions reflect a troubling pattern of demeaning condescension from some council members toward appointed members of my staff. This must come to an end now.”
Again, Grimaldi’s demeanor does not seem to fit Gordon’s description.
Plus note the fractured, well, something or other, in this phrase: “…your actions reflect a troubling pattern of demeaning condescension from from some council members…”
Uh, last I checked, Diller is only one council member. Is she also responsible for the behavior of other members as well?
To me, a county attorney refusing to share requested information with a council member defines the term ‘demeaning condescension’. But that’s just me.
That’s a great point re: the decorum of his own staff members.
There’s no “professional, working relationship” with anybody when you are picking a choosing who gets information. Information that they should be entitled to.
The demeaning condescension is from Gordon and his people who thought that they could get past Diller, Dulin, and Kilpatrick with that lightweight stuff.
Wow…..
This bullying and intimidation of county council members, not to mention blatantly playing favorites, was the hallmark of the first Gordon administration. One significant difference is that, the first time around, he had Sherry Freebery as his intimidator in chief.
The only surprise this cycle is that Tommy is doing it himself.
uhm, listen to the tape? The beginning of the meeting you hear a lot of grandstanding by Smiley and Kilpatrick and whining by Dulin. By the end of the meeting, Smiley’s thin complaints about getting feedback he wanted was resolved, Kilpatrick’s request for a briefing on Pike Creek legal strategy was resolved and Dulin’s complaints were addressed in statements by the County Attorney.
The bullying was being done by Diller. A thoroughly disgusting display. She screamed bloody murder at Pepukayi when her actual beef was with Chris Bullock who evidently refused Kilpatrick’s request for an agenda item in Exec. Committee. Pepukayi had Nothing To Do With Diller’s Snit Fit.
Norman Oliver is going to be playing the segment on Sunday night for anyone who hadn’t heard it.
Council has rules about decorum and John Cartier in chairing the committee that day had a responsibility to speak to Diller’s behavior.
Does Tom Gordon even attend Council meetings?
uhm, yes? But it took you longer than I expected to show up to defend the withholding of information from a branch of Government that certainly has every right to it. Hypocrite much?
It isn’t grandstanding to note in this working committee that the withholding of this information isn’t proper and specifically undermines Council’s role here. Once Pepukayi does his embarrassing mansplaining of why the Council isn’t a party to this suit, he appropriately gets his butt handed to him buy Diller, Kilpatrick and Dulin. It is only after this that he is ready to give them this info in Executive Session. If he had just bypassed the mansplaining and just told the group that he was ready to do the requested briefing, but wanted to do that in Executive Session — he wouldn’t have been in the position of having these ladies hand his butt to him.
There are rules for providing information to the Council from the Executive and Gordon has a responsibility to live up to that and stop whinging about his guy being caught out.
@John — I have no idea if Gordon attends Council meetings.
“Norman Oliver is going to be playing the segment on Sunday night for anyone who hadn’t heard it.”
That should make for scintillating television.