On Tuesday evening, (May 30), the Board of Supervisors held a study session on the topic of cannabis; the place was packed, there were several presentations by the sheriff and code enforcement, and county counsel presented a potential draft of the ban ordinance that some of our supervisors have ordered. Many people got up to speak their views on the topic (a creative young woman even sang her comments!), and the meeting went late into the night.
A recurring question to Supervisor Mills – and to the rest of the board – was: How will you pay for this ban you are so vigorously promoting? The supervisors remained silent, although Supervisor Mills did say it would not be paid for by raising taxes. As citizens, we are entitled to this information and it should be clear and detailed. What is this charade about?
At the end of the night, Supervisor Mills suddenly launched into a speech that had obviously been written prior to the meeting, affirming one more time that these “board study sessions” are nothing more than window dressing, and that nothing said there by the people is of any interest to some of our supervisors. Mills proceeded to violently attack and denigrate county “staff,” going as far as accusing them of delaying the process of the ban and being unprofessional. It was truly a shameful moment to see a supervisor lash out in such a way at our understaffed, overworked, underpaid county staff. Did you think your tirade made you look like a tough, competent leader, Mr. Mills? Think again.
No, it certainly looked more like an attempt to distract us from the essential – and still unanswered – question of how you will pay for this ban. How far will you go? Are you willing to lead our county to bankruptcy in the name of an ideology? How long will you continue this practice of opaque and irresponsible governance?
