For crying-out-loud, TJ has done it again.
Former City Councilmember TJ Johnson came to a meeting of the General Government committee, on which I serve, where I
- Requested that he and others who came be given time to speak–after the chair ruled we would not be taking public comment.
- Listened carefully to everything said when they were allowed to speak. I even took notes.
- Treated T.J. with respect, thanked him for his attendance and for his public service.
According to my friend Emmett O’Connell, TJ sent an email describing his version of events at that meeting. Emmett posted the letter on his blog. In it, the author answered my civility with a disrespectful and duplicitous rant that crudely misrepresented my remarks at the meeting. If indeed he wrote that letter (and set it out for wide distribution) then TJ Johnson is a liar.
When he wrote
While there were numerous ludicrous comments offered by the committee as they made the case for repeal (“all vets oppose the ordinance” “we don’t live in a democracy”) one of the most outlandish came from Rhenda Strub, who said that taking stands on important issues reduces the council’s moral authority. Huh? What good is moral authority if it’s not used to advance important issues?
He lied twice and misled by omission a third time.
Lie #1: I never said “taking stands on important issues reduces the council’s moral authority”. What I said was “taking stands on every single controversial issue reduces our moral authority”. It is a very important distinction. I said it in response to his argument “Why would you repeal this ordinance when you support and defend the equal benefits ordinance and the clean clothes ordinance? Aren’t they the same thing–refusing to do business with people who do not support Olympia values?” I answered that it is a good question, and one I had considered. I answered that I saw an important distinction: the equal benefits ordinance is enforceable and it is WORKING. The Nuclear Free Zone ordinance is unenforceable. We have exempted every entity that might actually be running nuclear weapons through Olympia. Then, we send letters to Kim Jong-il scolding him for using nuclear weapons. There are lots of evils in the world that I take a stand against, but I don’t expect the City staff to send letters to people telling them to stop sexual slavery of children in Thailand. I think we should reserve the power of ordinance to address issues where we can make change. Refusing to hire contractors who discriminate against gay and lesbian couples is one of those ways. Refusing to buy clothing from sweat shops is one of those ways. Writing letters to Kim Jong-il and whoever-gets-to-run-Pakistan-next is not. Perhaps TJ thinks it honorable to simply lie about what I said rather than offer a counter argument. It is not.
Lie #2: “all vets oppose the ordinance” Though he doesn’t credit the quote, he is lying again about what I said. I said “many veterans misunderstand the ordinance and think it is aimed at them”. To say “all vets” would not just have been wrong, but silly, since there were veterans in the room supporting the ordinance. One of them (no doubt a student in the TJ school of etiquette) interrupted me to tell me I didn’t know what veterans thought since he was a Veteran for Peace and he supported the ordinance. I know many veterans besides him. My husband is a veteran, I have a daughter and three nephews serving on active duty military service now. I knocked on thousands of doors last year when running for this office and talked to a lot of veterans who don’t agree with TJ. I thank them all for their service and I do not want to offend them with an ordinance they think was written to keep the USS Olympia out of town. I said all of that at the meeting.
Lie of omission #3: “We don’t live in a democracy.” Once again, it was me who uttered that. TJ didn’t explain why I said it or what else I said, because it sounds great by itself doesn’t it? Strub pounds her fist on the table and tells the unwashed to go away because she’s in charge. I’d hate Strub for that. But, it didn’t happen. More than one person in the room asked why we weren’t submitting the ordinance for a vote. One young man said “When do we get to vote on this, we voted it in, how can you just get rid of it without our permission? That’s not democratic.” In my remarks I said “Olympia is a republic, not a democracy. If we were a democracy we would all gather at the town square every day to give the City staff their orders. We don’t do that. To my knowledge, nobody in America does that. We elect representatives who make decisions on how to run our government.”
And by the way, when TJ Johnson voted this ordinance in he never suggested it should be decided by a vote of the people. Now that he’s in the audience and I’m in his chair, he thinks we need a public vote. Funny how the republic suited him just fine when he was the representative. Now he wants to make me sound like Marie Antoinette. Let him eat cake…gooey chocolate cake with rich chocolate icing on top. Let it improve his mood so he can conduct himself with integrity the next time he wants to disagree with me.
What a shamefull way for TJ to conduct himself. He and I have many friends in common. I supported him when he ran for office in 2003. I introduced him to my neighbors and displayed his sign in my yard. I have never publicly criticized him or even been rude to him. I can’t imagine what I’ve done to merit such disrespectful treatment from him, save disagree with him. Perhaps he simply needs an enemy to target his energy on. I won’t quietly let him demonize me.
14 responses so far ↓
1 Patrick // Aug 28, 2008 at 10:07 am
FYI
You said USS Olympian.
2 Rhenda // Aug 28, 2008 at 10:21 am
oops, typo, thanks Patrick
3 mathias // Aug 28, 2008 at 11:08 am
Rhenda,
thanks for your clarifying and open posts.
It’s good to have a venue where you can set things straight.
But funny how all your “challenges in public service” are about disputes with TJ.
4 Rhenda // Aug 28, 2008 at 11:55 am
That’s owing entirely to my own sloth, Mathias. I should be blogging every day. I should complete the “About” page and change out the stock headers on this blog. I should write a bio for the City page about me. I should stop enjoying the summer weather and get about doing all that stuff. But, right now I’m going to hop on my bike and ride down to the market.
I’ll blog again soon about something mundane…unless of course somebody else makes me angry enough to tend to my neglected corner of the interweb.
5 Patrick // Aug 28, 2008 at 12:47 pm
To heck with blogging every day.
Its going to be in the 70’s through the weekend.
Its time for all of us to leave the computer and get on a bike and ride on the new bike paths that the city made.
Except for me (my legs are still shot..)
Ill putt around the yard with my kid.
6 Bert // Aug 28, 2008 at 6:12 pm
Patrick, sorry to hear that you’re still suffering with your injury.
As far as the NFZ meeing, I am not going to defend TJ. I wasn’t there.
But I am strongly in favor of the ordinance. I think it is specifically ordinance like these that improves the moral standing of Americans. Especially at a time when our national officials are so corrupt!
I want and need local efforts like the NFZ, as a safeguard against the anti-social, anti-humanitarian policies and efforts that emanate from the national and international levels of gov’t and business.
7 Bert // Aug 29, 2008 at 2:30 pm
Couple of additional comments, and I would like to, on a personal level, defend TJ.
I know TJ, I know that he means well. If he misconstrued your comments, Rhenda, it is only because of his deep commitment to abolishing nuclear weapons. He is passionate about this issue. Passion is something I think that you’re familiar with.
Additionally. You’re right. America is not a Democracy. It is a Republic. - However it is a democratic Republic. The opinion of the people matters. Public opinion is integral to the formation of the laws of government, and the ethics of society. No getting around that.
The opinion of the public matters. So, we must then ask, is the public opinion reasonable? Does it make sense? The argument in favor of the ordinance is a winning argument. What is the argument against the ordinance? It’s not strong enough? It is impractical? It’s ineffective.
Which leads me to my third point: The ordinance is effective. It is effective for me. It makes me feel good. I am proud of my City and my Community because of this, and similar, ordinance.
So, please. Don’t take it away. I hope the other City Council Members read this too, because the same applies to them.
Public opinion matters. The opinion of the public in favor of the ordinance (and in favor of strengthening it) is reasonable - it makes sense. And the ordinance IS effective.
Sincerely,
Bert
8 Jeff // Aug 29, 2008 at 6:04 pm
Other city council members are reading this. Public opinion matters. All of it.
9 emmett // Aug 30, 2008 at 10:56 am
The Republic/Democracy thing has always been an interesting issue to me.
Rhenda is right in that a republic, direct public access to decision making is limited by electing officials. But, at least in America, the idea of a republic was balanced by direct public participation in government, a sort of civic republican ideal.
So, TJ was very republican in attending the meeting and he would be extremely republican in trying to get a measure on the ballot. If he wants Olympians to vote on the ordinance, he shouldn’t talk to the city council, he has recourse through our laws to collect signatures and put in on the ballot.
10 Rob Richards // Sep 6, 2008 at 5:04 pm
I think it’s really great that you’re doing this, Rhenda. One of my pet peeves has always been that council members make decisions and never really explain them. I think one of the duties of politicians in a representative system is to be open and accountable to the people. You are right on that our system doesn’t mandate that people vote on ever issue, but it does require that people choose who makes the big decisions and I think that means we have to know who we’re voting for and why they make the decisions they do, and not just during campaign season.
Otherwise people feel alienated and under-represented. You’ve provided a remedy to that in a way here, and whether one agrees with you on things or not, at least we know where you’re coming from, and that’s better than perception leading to assumption which can then lead to ugliness of one shape or another.
You should urge your fellow councilors to join you in the blogosphere. Heck, it may even raise them some votes.
11 Rhenda // Sep 6, 2008 at 7:31 pm
Thanks, Rob, for the comment. Other councilmembers are watching this. Jeff has posted here. He may be the next to jump into the blogosphere. I need to discipline to write when I’m not angry. But, so far that has been the powerful motivator.
12 Rob Richards // Sep 6, 2008 at 8:01 pm
I can relate. Try writing a first draft and then deleting it. It’ll let you vent the raw emotion out, and your second version will stick more to the facts than the feelings. Other than that, don’t sweat the small stuff, and remember that there’s always less traffic on the high road. Easier said than done sometimes, but I think it’s good to keep in mind.
13 Rhenda // Sep 6, 2008 at 8:17 pm
LOL. This post was my fifth draft! And I slept on it. I didn’t mean to mean leave the impression that I regret writing this. I don’t. I could delete it any time. But, it had to be said. What I meant was I need to write when I’m feeling good about something. I don’t do that. I just go on to the next thing. Somehow it feels like bragging to write about things that are going right.
14 Rob Richards // Sep 6, 2008 at 8:26 pm
I think that with all of the divisive stuff that’s come up in the last year (Port protests, TESC “riots”, the isthmus, the noise ordinance, and now the NFZO), it’d be nice to here some of the good. The Olympian isn’t helping with that because good news doesn’t sell papers or advertising. I think it’s up to involved citizens to promote the good things happening in our city.
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