Who is watching government?

It became apparent to me that the Stuart City Commission was not concerned whether anyone was watching. Our only local and major news source, The Stuart News, no longer has a reporter routinely assigned to City Hall, or for that matter our County Commission. Sunshine doesn’t mean much if no one is there to pull back the curtain.

Speaking of Sunshine, a look behind the curtain is in order regarding how Nick Blount was chosen at the last meeting to fill my vacated seat.  Nick has been an outstanding member of our community for years. He has served on numerous boards and been involved. He would be an excellent candidate for that seat under any circumstance.

But there were others who have an equal pedigree who also expressed a desire for the appointment. Why weren’t they considered? Why wasn’t there an application process so that other possible candidates could have applied? Commissioner McDonald did motion for a special meeting to discuss the appointment but no one seconded and the motion died. Then Commissioner Bruner moved for Blount to be appointed and it was seconded by McDonald. It passed on a 4-0 vote. The vote seemed almost as if it were staged. There was no discussion or deliberation by the Commission. It reminded me of the old Soviet Politburo.

Stuart is descending even further into shade. Citizens don’t attend meetings. They really don’t seem to care. Millions of tax dollars are being spent with all the trappings of open meetings but none-the-less without the benefit of any scrutiny. The elected officials should be keeping the staff in check. Citizens and the press should be the check on the elected officials. None of this is occurring presently.

All the Sunshine, Open Meetings and Public Records laws mean nothing without citizen participation and scrutiny. What is the sense of these laws when there are no citizens at the meetings to watch, listen, speak and remember at election time? Without a press to report those mundane, routine and yes, at times, boring proceedings, our democracy cannot be sustained.

If local government can’t be responsible and responsive to the citizens then how can state and federal governments be expected to do so? The answer is not in more laws or regulations. It is in the people’s willingness to make sure that self-government works. Sitting on the couch at home and having big opinions won’t help. You becoming involved could make the difference.