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<br /> <br />Mr. Crow said it was not denying the citizen the right to participation and it was absurd that it <br />was a power grab. He said all of Council should be able to participate. <br /> <br />Mr. Price said the Mayor has used these rules to revoke an elected body by the people. He <br />said that now we are trying to deny the people when an elected official was censored. Mr. <br />Price stated that the Mayor was trying to say she was saving the people when she was <br />taking the sovereign rights of suffrage. <br /> <br />Mayor Welsch noted that the Council was talking about the special committees that was set <br />up many years ago and has served the City and the members of the community well. She <br />said she does not agree with the arguments to change and has the right to say that. <br /> <br />Mr. Glickert noted that he has been with a couple of Mayors that have put together <br />committees very effectively and as a Councilmember had the opportunity to weigh in on the <br />selection of residents to be on the committee. Therefore he did not see any need for this to <br />change as historically it has been done very well. <br /> <br />Ms. Carr stated to her it was not an issue of accessibility as she has a record next to no one <br />in the City of gathering people together to access the government. She said the Task <br />Forces did a marvelous job but was about compliance with the Charter. Ms. Carr stated the <br />Charter said it is the Council–body not the Mayor. She said because the rules were written <br />twenty years ago does not mean it is right. Ms. Carr noted there were a few more political <br />people sitting at this table. She said this was compliance with the Charter and that was her <br />promise to the electorate. Ms. Carr said it was uncivil of going into the public and calling her <br />out publicly to be uncivil. She asked the Mayor if it were not one of her supporters would she <br />listen. <br /> <br />Mr. Kraft said it would be a stretch to take this rule to court and find it was not in compliance <br />with the Charter. He said that if they had to find everything in the Charter kind of stretches <br />beyond imagination. He asked for anyone to show him in the United States Constitution <br />where it says the Supreme Court makes the decision as to whether or not something is <br />constitutional or not. Mr. Kraft stated that someone needs to show him where in the <br />constitution it says that the Supreme Court can vote on the constitutionality of an act of <br />Congress. He said by tradition it was a precedent and part of the way things are done but it <br />was not in the Constitution. Mr. Kraft said it wais a long stretch to say legalistically the <br />Council is compelled to change this rule because they are in violation of the Charter. Mr. <br />Kraft said it has been something similar to judicial review that has been going on for at least <br />sixteen years and seems to work. He said there are a few rules that he would like to change <br />that are not working or not fair or clearly wrong. Mr. Kraft said the Mayor is elected by all <br />three wards and has the, and up until now, the authority to make a decision that is not solely <br />focused on a specific ward. He said the Mayor has been pro-active and has appointed well <br />thought-out important commissions that have done good work. He said this change was <br />saying to the Mayor, you should not have done that. Mr. Kraft said that by the Charter the <br />Council is not compelled to change this rule. <br /> <br />Mr. Sharpe stated he basically agreed with what Mr. Kraft said but would vote to change the <br />rule although he felt the Mayor has done an outstanding job forming committees. He said if <br />the Council would vote against any committee she would want to form, he would want to <br />come back to this rule and change it back. <br /> <br />3 <br /> <br /> <br />