Extortion? Duluth City Councilor Garry Krause could not have been serious when dropping that loaded word in response to a report his name was on a "naughty" list posted at the Bentleyville lighting display at Bayfront Festival Park.
And yet he was.
"Future councilors might hesitate on a vote" for fear of being on the naughty list, Krause told News Tribune reporter Brandon Stahl. "It could sway somebody. It's a form of extortion on future votes."
Krause realized the list wasn't Santa's official record? That it wasn't flown in to Duluth directly from the North Pole for a public display? Didn't he?
Like Krause, City Councilor Jim Stauber voted against bringing the Christmas lights to the waterfront for fear of what it could cost the city. He, too, landed on the gonna-get-coal-in-his-stocking list.
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Unlike Krause, though, Stauber was able to take the list for what it was: a gag and all in good fun. Stauber let out a Santa-like guffaw when told. He even joked: "I guess a lot of people would consider me naughty."
And apparently a little more thick-skinned than his colleague. The quality can go a long way for elected public officials forced to endure above-normal amounts of teasing. They have to know being made the butts of jokes comes with the job.
Scrutiny and criticism also come with holding elected office. Just ask City Councilor Sharla Gardner who, last year, took heat after struggling to recall how much she paid for a trip she took to Japan with the nonprofit Sister Cities organization. She insisted at least twice she paid all her own expenses. Then she acknowledged Sister Cities -- to which Gardner had voted to give $94,000 of city money -- paid a "small portion" of her airline ticket. "A couple hundred dollars, if that," she said. The News Tribune investigated and found that Sister Cities actually paid Gardner's entire airfare -- nearly $1,500.
Gardner invited a fresh round of ridicule this year by proposing to increase from $20,000 to $30,000 city funding for Sister Cities. But she demonstrated little of the thick-skinned grit that typifies and serves so well confident public figures, especially when faced with constituent condemnation. Rather than considering concerns, Gardner e-mailed the News Tribune to complain about them, specifically comments left online at duluthnews
tribune.com.
In response to Krause's objections, city administrators this week asked Bentleyville founder Nathan Bentley to remove councilors' names from his naughty list. Bentley said he would.
But city administrators should never have felt obligated to make such a request. And Bentley should never have obliged. Public dialogue and debate is most productive and can lead to the best results when participants remain civil and respectful. But participation has to be encouraged, too, rather than discouraged by anyone.
