Tongues are wagging on the street and in our letters to the editor section this week about Coun. Mike Jenson's rather dramatic gesture at last week's 撸奶社区council meeting.
In the midst of a heated debate that saw council narrowly approve the Memorandum of Understanding between the 撸奶社区Oceanfront Development Corporation and Qualex-Landmark - only to see Qualex-Landmark walk away from the deal two days later - Jenson ripped a piece of paper symbolizing the MOU.
Some people who supported the MOU are suggesting that it was Jenson's gesture that prompted Qualex-Landmark to walk away from the deal, not the closeness of the vote or the fact that council amended the terms at the 11th hour.
If that's the case, then we'd be very surprised. These are professional developers with years of experience behind them. While a gesture like that would give people cause for concern, it shouldn't be the reason to walk away from a $50-million profit.
But it certainly doesn't help the tone of civic discourse in 撸奶社区- a tone that has already suffered much through the whole oceanfront debate. The tendency here seems to be to make things personal rather than debate issues and ideas.
While many people have conscientious objections to the MOU and the public process, we strongly suspect there are also people whose main motivation is antipathy towards Mayor Ian Sutherland. To those people, we say: consider ideas on their merits, not just on who's presenting them. Things are moving too quickly in 撸奶社区for us to cut off our nose to spite our face.
But that works both ways. In an interview with The Chief this week the possibility of another joint venture partner coming forward less than a week after Qualex walked away, Mayor Ian Sutherland seemed almost dismissive of the possibility of another joint venture partner getting through council based on the last vote.
He also highlighted Jenson's gesture and asked why it wasn't covered and why opponents of the MOU weren't getting their feet held to the fire or their ideas critiqued.
But Sutherland knows from his own past community activism - which saw him elected first to council and then to the Mayor's chair - that it's easier to oppose something than to support it. As we said last week, it's incumbent on all of council - those who supported the MOU and those who opposed it - to move forward on this public trust.
But when it comes to the ripped paper incident, we agree with those who found it distasteful and we hope Coun. Jenson thinks about his actions - and perhaps responds to his critics next time he's in front of the cameras in council.
Council chambers are the place for rational debate of ideas. Let's leave the playground games and mindless political theatre where they belong - in the House of Commons.
