A Very Sad State of Affairs

A Very Sad State of Affairs
Trina L.C. Sonnenberg

When one starts a job, are they not expected to learn everything they can about that job, so that they can be effective in it? If one doesn't satisfactorily learn the job they've been hired to do,, don't they usually get fired?

Isn't it reasonable to assume that a doctor knows about medicine, a hairdresser about styling hair, a mayor of a town to know the law? You'd think so, wouldn't you.

What do you do with a mayor, who after two years in office, still doesn't know the law pertaining to governance, or refuses to follow it? Remove them from office, perhaps? After all, there are plenty of resources available to local officials to learn the laws related to public office. There are web sites containing state statutes, and the Colorado Municipal League has a web site completely devoted to helping non-professional politicians in learning the laws of governance.

In Nucla, Colorado, Mayor Roxanne Allex does not appear to take her position as mayor seriously enough to learn the laws of municipal governance. She has been in office for two years, and still does not understand the law that she is bound by.

For example: She repeatedly attempts to hold meetings with no quorum. In the last town board meeting, August 13, 2008, she attempted to include herself as part of a quorum, saying that state statutes allow mayors to be included. However, a citizen had to relate to her that the statute says that the mayor may only be included in the establishment of a quorum if the mayor is a voting member of the governing body, which by town ordinance she is not. The mayor in the town of Nucla has limited voting abilities; therefore cannot be counted for establishing a quorum. It is pretty sad when a citizen, who is not an attorney, knows more about municipal governance law than the mayor of the town.

This is a particularly disturbing action on the part of the mayor because she has been told by the town's own attorney, what the rules of establishing a quorum are, after it was discovered that her first official actions as mayor, in 2006, were taken with no quorum and rendered invalid. She's been told how to do her job, but disregards what she's been told.

The meeting did not take place; the board members who were present refused to proceed without a valid quorum, and left the town hall.

To add to the distress is the fact that these town meetings are so poorly attended, that most people living there have no idea what sort of manipulator they've voted into office. Even sadder is the fact that out of some 700 people living in Nucla, only 105 turned out to vote in the election that placed her in office.

Since April, 2008, two trustees have resigned from the town board, leaving the remaining trustees to deal with the controversy caused by this mayor.

About the Author:
Trina L.C. Sonnenberg
Publisher - The Trii-Zine Ezine - Your Trusted Source for Internet Business and Marketing Information. Serving online professionals since 2001. ISSN# 1555-2276
http://www.ezines1.com/triizine
http://www.ads-on-q.com/intro
Author of: My Journey A Lifetime of Verse http://stores.lulu.com/triizine
Internet Marketing Mavens
http://internetmarketing-mavens.com