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September 17, 2007

Councilors: A divided council? No way!

ANYONE WHO thought City Councilors Edward "Bud" Caulfield, Armand Mercier and Rita Mercier were peeved at the council majority that ousted former City Manager John Cox last April must have been sorely mistaken.

Bernie Lynch

Caulfield and the Merciers were particularly keen to show they have not been a thorn in the side of Lynch, who was hired a year ago. Caulfield counted unanimous support for the new manager's recommendation in 139 of 142 roll-call votes so far.

"The notion or perception this is a 6-3 council is a fallacy," he said.

Rita Mercier, the No. 1 vote-getter in the past two city elections, said she has supported Lynch's proposals at "a greater ratio than with my husband."

Most council votes are perfunctory. That's where Caulfield and the Merciers usually side with Lynch. On the controversial matters, however, they don't always see it Lynch's way.
The council majority is hanging its hat on Lynch's so-called popularity as it seeks re-election. That's why they pushed for a vote on the manager's contract extension, to separate the Hatfield from the McCoys so to speak.

But Caulfield and the Merciers don't want to be perceived as Lynch opponents, even if they did vote against the extension for their own reasons. (Caulfield opposes Lynch's 10 percent annuity, saying the manager is getting 80 percent of his salary at retirement, so why does he need more? The Merciers don't think any manager should get a contract on principle.)

So maybe that's why all three went out of their way to say they would give the manager a "vote of confidence." It's pure politics on both sides.

Posted by Admin at September 17, 2007 12:53 PM