Council Indignities

Anyone believing that the brouhaha about redistricting is the San Diego City Council’s only questionable performance might be interested in the following event.

One and a half hours into the July 24 council meeting, a scheduled Housing Authority hearing was continued to July 31. People waiting to testify had to return a week later. The council meets as the Housing Authority to deal with matters brought to it by the Housing Commission.

The $82-million Housing Commission budget was the principal point of the hearing. It had already been approved by the Housing Commission--with council members Linda Bernhardt, Bob Filner and John Hartley absent--after we had presented overwhelming evidence of mismanagement and excessive compensation.

With the auditorium a gaping abyss (everyone but the participants had left) Councilwoman Judy McCarty, chairing a bare council quorum, repeatedly interrupted testifiers. She finally cut them off and prevented one of them from testifying altogether. The disrespect shown by the mayor and council to the public by such actions is outrageous.

Among other evidence, we had shown that Housing Commission personnel expenses had increased from $4.4 million 1988 (actual) to $8.4 in 1991 (proposed)--double in three years. Facts like these do not seem to bother our council members. After all, this only concerns much-needed affordable housing.

Needless to say, the Housing Commission budget was railroaded through, after Housing Commission Chairwoman Bernhardt made the motion without considering any of the crucial testimony we had presented.

With performances like this, is it any wonder that fewer and fewer citizens are willing to testify, exposing themselves to abuse, arrogance and such outrageous ill treatment and indignities? Something must be done to stop these so-called servants of the public from engaging in such offensive conduct.

HANS JOVISHOFF

San Diego