North Canton citizen activist and former North Canton councilman Chuck Osborne was fuming mad at Council president Dayrl Revoldt after last night's Council meeting.
Why?
Because Revoldt prohibited Osborne from exercising his "public speaks" right at the meeting.
Osborne had prepared a statement to read at "Public Speakes" (a North Canton City Council agenda item) pertaining to recent revelation that North Canton was doing illegal dumping at a site next to the city's water treatment plant
Osborne called the SCPR immediately after the council meeting saying that he was furious and was trying to locate his lawyer.
Locate his lawyer?
Hmm?
Could Osborne be looking at a civil law suit against the city for infringement of his First Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution?
Whether or not North Canton and Revoldt gets sued by Osborne, the SCPR believes that Revoldt made a poor decision. Yours truly has talked with Revoldt frequently since the SCPR was started and on the basis of these conversations would not figure to take the action he took last night.
Government officials amaze The Report in how often they do politically unwise, if not illegal things, within the scope of their public duties.
All Chuck Olsborne wanted to do last night was to comment on a story that appeared in The Canton Repository on November 17th
In addition to unacceptably toying with First Amendment rights, Revoldt's muzzling of Osborne is downright silly.
Osborne's main message is this: how could Held and Wise, the top administrators, not know of the illegal dumping, and if they want to say they did not know; how could this be?
Today, Osborne informed the SCPR that Councilman Davies is telling him that Revoldt's action against his speaking was designed to keep Mayor David Held from making statements in response to Osborne's probing that might "dig a deeper hole" for North Canton government.
Expect a lot of re-shuffling within the North Canton city administration over the next week or two.
The SCPR has learned that law director Randy McFarren is being non-renewed and that North Canton officials are taking a serious look at trying to remove Earle Wise as city administrator.
The Report complained about Held not having any opposition in the recently concluded election.
Political competition is the "mother's milk of government accountability." Held knows he is unaccountable and for Council president Revoldt to assume the role of protecting Held from himself by keeping citizen activist Osborne from asking questions is totally unacceptable however understandable it might be.
It is too high of a price to pay for our democratic processes to shut down a Public Speaks to protect government officials from themselves.
Council president Revoldt needs to apologize to the rest of Council, citizen Osborne and the North Canton public for shutting down First Amendment processes for any reason and certainly not to protect Mayor Held from himself!
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