The second most notable aspect of the night? Mayor Hughson arguing with everyone. Mayor Hughson is coming off like a petty elementary school teacher who believes she must shepherd wayward students. When your wayward students are grown-ass adults who are not being disruptive, it makes you look like a petty tyrant. (She has a tendency to be a bit snippy and impatient, and usually she balances it by thanking people often and acknowledging her own flaws. But tonight she came off very poorly.)
Jane Hughson snipped at:
– the city lawyer, Mr. Consentino
– Melissa Derrick
– Max Baker (always.)
– possibly others, and she was also having technical sound issues and missed several items
The Derrick one was particularly egregious. Councilmember Derrick started to ask a question. Hughson interrupted her to scold, “You do not start asking a question before I’ve called on you. But since your hand was raised, I will now call on you. Begin your question.” Her tone was very sharp!
Derrick responded, “Actually, I did have the floor, and you all got off track during my question. So I still have the floor and was not done asking questions.”
They papered over it and continued – they’ve been colleagues for a decade, and Derrick is very easy-going. But it was bizarre!
…
A big part of this is the six hour meetings. Tuesday’s meeting went from 6 pm to 2 am. Mayor Hughson is constantly admonishing everyone to keep their comments brief. It’s understandable, but it would be better to solve the underlying problem of 6-8 hour meetings.
The thing that gets me is that this is VERY SOLVABLE: just meet weekly. I don’t understand this loyalty to bi-weekly meetings.
The San Marxist 