'... Of the People' Perishes in City Hall

Summary

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Call me a masochist. I routinely watch my city's council meetings on cable television. Most of the time, the Rancho Cucamonga City Council meetings are uneventful. Sometimes, however, important projects are heard that have the community up in arms.

When these projects are on the agenda things get interesting. City staff give their report distilling reams of information into a few paragraphs. Silky-tongued consultants blather on about how exciting and transformative their client's projects are. Parades of constituents plead their cases. The city attorney pronounces his legal opinion, making the issue seem mundane. After hearing all the "information," council members "deliberate" the issue with each giving an indication about how he or she will vote. If I were a betting man, I would bet the project opponents don't have a snowball's chance ... they don't. The uprising is quelled and the peasantry is put in its place.

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Extract

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'... Of the People' Perishes in City Hall

Now, not all projects are controversial. Most are approved with nary a murmur. But some are just plain dubious.

The most recent example of this is the so-called "strawberry patch proje...

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