Did you see the wizard work in Natchoz?

Published 12:01 am Sunday, February 19, 2012

We should change the city’s name to Natchoz. This week’s action by the mayor and the alderman demonstrate the magic they can work behind a curtain of secrecy, just like the Wizard of Oz.

Indeed, hizzoner the mayor could hardly wait to pull the curtain closed on the entire discussion and negotiation of the casino lease amendment. If the rate at which he chewed his gum was an indicator of how quickly the mayor wanted to act on the third amendment to the lease, he was going for warp speed.

At that speed everything would seem to be a blur. When all was said and done, the mayor and five of the six aldermen voted for the amendment. But nothing was clear.

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Nothing was done in the public eye. But where was it done, and by whom? When were the negotiations conducted by the city and the casino developers? Who were the negotiators, and by whom were they empowered to bargain on behalf of the citizens of Natchez?

To whom are they accountable?

Will we ever know? I doubt it. The mayor and the aldermen adhere to a belief in black-box government, where you put the issue in the black box and shazam: The solution magically comes out the other end.

Obviously they haven’t heard of transparency in government, where issues are dealt with in the open, warts and all. The aldermen and hizzoner brushed aside the notion of open meetings and government in the sunshine to gain what they hope will be grist for the upcoming campaign season. The Gang of Six can crow that they brought jobs and investment to the community.

They even tried a little spur-of-the-moment magic with the claim that they were going into executive session to discuss industrial development. What? When pressed, gang members admitted they were going to meet, in yet another secret session, to discuss the casino.

Alderman Dan Dillard isn’t part of the gang, because he felt the developers have a credibility problem, and voted against the amendment.

The aldermen and the mayor have been under such pressure in recent weeks that they voted to send themselves to Washington, D.C., for several days to attend a National League of Cities conference. It will be interesting to see how willingly they will discuss the cost of this taxpayer-paid junket.

Maybe the Gang of Six will learn something in Washington about conducting the public’s business openly, instead of just acting to ensure their political jobs.

The taxpayers can only hope the Gang of Six will be able to explain to the voters how the third lease amendment came about, and why they couldn’t discuss it in public.

It is not easy to explain how magic works. But Mayor Jake Middleton seems to believe in magic: “I’m thinking positively, and if you think positive, positive things will happen,” he told The Democrat.

 

Frank Gresock

Natchez resident