4:00pm | In postings to his personal Facebook account and a letter that appeared in the Press-Telegram today, 1st District Councilmember Robert Garcia swtiched his position on the effort to reduce City Council meetings to two per month.
After initially signing on in support of the proposal, Garcia says he will no longer support it. His letter in today’s Press-Telegram reads:
I’ve always wondered why elected officials never admit when they have made a mistake in public. I told myself and friends a year ago when I was elected to the City Council that I would try to admit any mistakes and learn from them.
Over the last few days, I’ve been thinking about the proposal that I was supporting to reduce City Council meetings to twice a month to save money. After much discussion, debate and listening to friends and neighbors, I’ve realized that I was wrong on that issue. I’m glad the item was pulled off the council agenda, and that we never voted on it.
The item was originally scheduled to be discussed last Tuesday, but was pulled that afternoon by 3rd District Councilmember Gary DeLong, who said he wanted to wait until there was a full Council present – one member was expected to be absent – and said that he expected to present the proposal again in the coming weeks.
The item was also supported by 2nd District Councilmember Suja Lowenthal, but widely criticized by 5th District Councilmember Gerrie Schipske. With two new councilmembers being sworn in tonight, it is unclear how the Council as a whole will sit on the issue in the future.
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