continued from previous page were behind the appointment of Doug Strehl, so Iâd like to make a motion to elect Doug Strehl to this committee. Thatâs the main reason â I know Frank wasnât able to be here today. He had some other things he had to do, so Iâm stepping in here for that. But in discussion with the rest of the council â the Eureka City Council â we are in support of Doug.â Newman added that Titus would also be an adequate alternative. âHad we known about that [his candidacy] there might have been more discussion there. But weâre more in support of rails first versus trails. Weâre in support of rails and trails, but rails first when youâre looking at things. So thatâs why the majority of the council was in agreement Eureka City Councilman Mike Newman, serving as mayor pro-tem, voted to rescind Alex Stillmanâs with, um, having Doug.â appointment and replace her with Fortuna Mayor Doug Strehl. Among its many provisions, the Photo by Ryan Burns Brown Act states that âa majority of the members of a legislative bodyâ shall not âuse a series of communividually. When reminded of the Brown approved of what he did, they must have cations of any kind, directly or through inActâs prohibition of such communicaviolated the Brown Act,â she said. termediaries, to discuss, deliberate, or take tions Newman backtracked, saying that The Journal called Newman at work action on any item of businessâ except at a Jager did not tell him heâd spoken with two days after the meeting to ask when public meeting. the rest of the council. âNo. He didnât âthe majority of the councilâ had disWhen Newmanâs fellow counciltell me that. ... He had just said that he cussed the matter. Sounding flustered, member Linda Atkins heard about what would rather have â Iâm guessing that,â he said, âWe hadnât discussed it publicly. Newman said, she grew suspicious that Newman said. âIâm surmising and Iâm putIt was just discussed with Frank, the the rest of the council had discussed the ting words in his mouth.â The fact of the request for who was wanted. ... When issue without her, and without public matter, Newman insisted, was that Jager it was announced that [Alexâs appointknowledge. She told the Journal that she, simply âhad a change of opinion.â ment] happened, the majority told Frank for one, hadnât talked about it with any A couple hours after our conversathat they didnât like that.â of her fellow councilmembers. âIf he said tion, Newman sent an email in hopes of According to Newman, Jager said heâd there was a majority of the council who clarifying. It said, in part, âAt the Selecspoken to each councilmember indi-
tion Committee meeting, I misspoke when I stated that the Council had discussed the item. The Council was going to discuss the item to give direction but did not. I acted on behalf of the Mayor as Mayor Pro-Tem and voted in the way that I believe and based on a past vote of the Council where the decision had been made to support trails with rails and the East/West Rail.â This brings up yet another question: Who should Newman have represented? Even if Newman was right that the majority of the council preferred Strehl to Stillman, would it matter? In Eureka, the office of mayor is elected independently, meaning that, unlike most other cities in the county, the mayor is not part of the city council. The Mayors City Selection Committee rules say that if a mayor canât attend a meeting then a councilmember should attend and vote as the mayorâs representative. The rules donât offer any direction about whether the mayorsâ job is to represent the will of their constituents or of their councils. Newman and Brady believe the latter is more appropriate. Brady referred to Jager as âa delegateâ who was âsupposed to speak for the council.â When reminded that Jager was elected separately, Brady said she didnât know what the rules of the Mayors City Selection Committee said, but it doesnât seem right that a mayor âcan just go tearing off on his own and do whatever he feels like.â She allowed that itâs possible that mayors are entitled to act independently on the committee. âI donât know,â she said. âIf thatâs the case then I really wouldnât like that Mayors Select Committee.â Fellow councilmember Atkins had a different take. âWe elect a mayor to have independent thinking and do whatâs best for the community, and I think thatâs why a lot of people voted for Frank,â she said. He and I disagree on a lot of political stuff, but he has some â what would you call it â integrity.â Abdicating his spot to Newman, she suggested, was not an example of that integrity.
The message of rail
Severe landslides and erosion have left the railroad through the Eel River Canyon in shambles. photos by rick sanchez
18 North Coast Journal ⢠Thursday, July 25, 2013 ⢠northcoastjournal.com
believers is simple and seductive: An active and developed port, combined with a railroad connecting Humboldt Bay to the national rail system, would revitalize the local economy, spurring industry and job growth to levels not seen since the heyday of the timber and fishing indus-