Eva GeoRene Jones, Salisbury, N.C.
♦Keep it up! I love it! Each time you try to take this to a new place, I’ll be right here waiting to again reiterate: my goal is to foster opportunity for cooperation amongst the elected leaders of this County in order that their constituents have a voice in the Strategic Planning Process for the Mall which, according to the Commissioners, is to take shape now that the Mall is owned by this County.
My efforts are for myself and those good citizens who have contacted me since beginning the Change.org petition which attempted to raise the citizen voice on the issue of the Mall purchase. If it is necessary to brand us with some name which stirs distaste for you then you may certainly do so, however, your doing so does not make the statement factual. Trying to spin my involvement to meet your own political need comes as no surprise. What may is that I actually persist in reiterating, restating and refusing to be silent.
I have done what I stated, both in public and private, I would do to move the effort forward. I have no army of lawyers standing in the wings, only good and honest citizens who want to be heard. have not veered from my goal. I will not do so in future.
I am not now, nor have I ever been a member of the RCC group. It is likely some of their members support the cause of cooperation amongst elected leaders in this County. I requested a Point of Order, a time-honored, ethical and respectful attempt to speak publicly according to Roberts’ Rules of Order (see reference below). ˆ The presence or absence of law enforcement at any meeting has never been a concern for me, as the public record indicating the request was denied provides evidence the democratic process was not respected. Mrs. Klusman’s request for a Point of Order was of her own volition. The denial of any public comment at that meeting, through a specified period of Public Comment and the denial of the Point of Order requests provides evidence of an issue I fully intended to put to rest by, as suggested in many ways and places, going to “the horse’s mouth.” Regretfully, my belief that the Commissioners understand that the people have a right to speak openly to their leaders in a democratic society went away with the denial of opportunity to do just that.
And as to my faith, it is no smoke screen. This effort is but one small portion of my overall efforts to live-out my religious beliefs by pushing social justice. Rather than sit around praying for “someone” to do something, I realized that everyone else is just as busy as I though quite possibly as a-political as I have always been until now. For just such a time as this, I’ve been graced with courage and support to take this stand from which I shall not back away.
