This is Whitehall’s Council President (the ‘Vice-Mayor’ so to speak) Jim Graham (left) and City Auditor Dan Miller(right). They have both been criticized individually by this citizen in posts on this blog. Last Tuesday evening, April 10th, just after the meetings conclusion, both had quite a public  ‘moment’ with me, that ‘moment’ which I’ve recounted via the video you see below. It was quite a surprising breach of protocol coming from elected officials towards a citizen.

To preface the video I will say this: It is a complete telling of events as I took them in, from beginning to end. One of my strongest personality traits is my powers of observation. While the events were unfolding I was recording, in my mind, not just what was said but people’s clothing, what I read in their faces and the mood of people and the ‘room’ itself. I wanted to record these events of last Tuesday on video so you could see me telling it, you could see/read my eyes, my inflections and reactions while telling you what happened. Words may tell a story but a face and voice and everything else tell the whole story. I did this so you could decide for yourself the authenticity of what I recount. What judgement you pass will be yours to make, as is your right. I will say this: I may be many things in life but ‘stupid’ is not one of them. Naïve, believing in people’s better natures, trusting? Yes. Stupid, no. When I attend these meetings it is with a full understanding of my place (public critic of elected officials, that which I work so hard to expose and fight) at them. I am in the ‘belly of the beast’, so to speak, therefore I am reserved, cordial and without provocation. To be otherwise; out of order or to cause a ruckus, would be to undermine my own fight, to damage my own credibility as a reasoned critic and champion of ethical principles in government. That would be counterproductive to all my hard work and quite frankly, stupid. To suggest I am ‘off the beam’ is to not have read or understood my years of reason on this blog or in arguments on Facebook and is to bolster and enrich the underhanded wrong going on at city hall, plain and simply. You may think whatever you may about my character but, while I have a fighters spirit directed in the right direction, I’m still a gentleman and highly aware of myself and everything around me. There are several things I’ve never disclosed about certain officials because I deemed them wrong to tell about, non-disclosures even they are not aware I exercised. (As a small example of my thought process regarding my attendance of these meetings: I carry a pocket knife with me most times, as do most men. When it is time to go to the meeting, I leave it at home. I always feel that if there was some sort of trouble, I wouldn’t want them to either confuse its possession’s intent or, more importantly, misconstrue its presence for maximum political self-benefit. So, I leave it at home. Better to be safe than sorry.) So, here is the video…

Post-script (video):

As a note on the week which has elapsed since this event: I was so shocked, I didn’t quite know what to do. Two elected city officials, most unprofessionally, came at me at the same meetings end. It was completely unprofessional, unorthodox and a breach of protocol of elected officials with a singular citizen and in the council committee room on city property. I felt intimidated by the actions of two city officials towards me. I didn’t know where to turn or what to do, so, I sought counsel in the matter. That counsel which I got just yesterday. I knew I would post this situation’s telling publicly, I just wasn’t sure when.

I have thoughts and feelings on the matter but for now its enough to soak in the information given, just as it was for me.

Screenshot of Jim Graham immediately getting up at the close of the meeting to come around and speak to me.

Screenshot of Council President Jim Graham standing over me haranguing me.