There’s an update about Janesville’s fire station debacle: Janesville’s city attorney reportedly contends that Wisconsin law does not allow a petition to overturn what the City of Janesville contends is an administrative decision. See, City attorney: Fire station question not for voters to decide.
For now, consider the politics of this position. (Here, I mean this broadly, an an expression of participatory government.)
Council and the Janesville municipal administration now stand to defend against the city’s own voters a process that was once concealed in an unlawful closed session, that will destroy some residents’ homes, and at a high municipal price tag.
City Manager Mark Freitag had been working to promote a reputation for openness in the aftermath of the closed session. Those PR gains (such as they were) will now be ignored or treated with scorn.
The Gazette has been on the wrong side of this issue, and now they’re on the wrong side of this issue along with local politicians and the city’s attorney. That’s not as bad as being on the wrong side of an issue along with Vladimir Putin, but it’s hardly an esteemed group.
The last place a declining paper should want to be is beside insiders and so-called influencers. It’s even worse when media outside the city are picking up the issue (rather sympathetically) via television.
Circling the wagons against residents is a mistake; when those circling the wagons already look dodgy, it’s a worse strategy.
What should have been done here?
Any claim about the stated unlawfulness of a resident’s petition should have been combined with a political commitment to open the issue again. One would say: we don’t believe you can proceed via petition, but we’re prepared to offer an alternative of further discussion (community survey, etc).
The prior, unlawful closed session taints this whole process; attempts to shut down redress through legal procedures will only exacerbate political alienation.
Honest to goodness, these are maladroit men and women.
It’s hard to overestimate how poorly all this has been handled.