The Fairfaxian/Mike Ghiringhelli
Chapter 1: Consent Gate Comes to Fax Town
Sometimes, simply walking down the street, can lead you down a path that you least expected. Life’s simple twists and turns of fate.
Jenny, who I’ve known for decades, said to me – Mike, did you see the last council meeting? It was really wild. People were calling into the council and saying the nastiest and rudest things I’ve ever heard spoken at a meeting. It was unbelievable.
Remember my friends, Jenny said it was unbelievable. More on that later.
Jenny likes to watch the council meetings on the telly. Despite having 939 available channels on her flat screen, Jenny prefers viewing her town meeting in the comfort of her own home. She’s interested in the well being of our town, and was so alarmed at what she witnessed, she just had to tell me.
If I wasn’t walking by her, down the street in beautiful downtown Fairfax, she may very well have never told me. But I did, and she did. Thank you, Jenny, for sharing.
As reported here previously in the Ross Valley Reporter, Fairfax Council, in their infinite wisdom, has stifled free speech, with outrageous new rule changes.
That’s been a big concern for the citizens of Fairfax. They don’t want their free speech taken away from them.
Free thinking Fairfax folks, showed up in person at the council meeting in question, to express their desire for freedom of thought and expression in their town.
Chapter 2: The Consent Calendar
Another ongoing concern is the way the Fairfax Town Council uses the consent calendar. The consent items are supposed to be fairly mundane items that get bundled up into one convenient vote by the Council to pass all items on the consent agenda.
It’s for expediency, as these meetings have far too many items on them to begin with.
If a council member or a person attending in public, wants to pull any particular consent item off the calendar, to hear it individually, and to comment on it, and have it voted on individually, in a roll call vote, they are normally allowed. That’s protocol.
This particular council has been notorious for not pulling off any items on the consent calendar. The consent items also, for the first time, have been stacked with all kinds of important and impactful ordinances and rules that need to be heard in public, and debate allowed. These are not consent type items.
As hard as some members of the public have tried to get an important or controversial item pulled from consent and heard individually, the town council has not allowed that request to be granted. It’s not even legal for that to be the policy, and it’s a form of silencing concerned citizens.
One vote later, all items would be passed, no room for questions, those dastardly obnoxious questions, no room for debate, or the public’s opinion. Silencio.
Chapter 3: Something Happening Here
Until recently that is. That’s when we had the unofficial Decorum Coincidental incident. That’s when we had “Free Speech Gate.” That’s when we had… get ready for it … Consent Gate in Fax Town.
It was so coincidental what happened that night, that two of our most prominent and involved citizens, Frank Egger, our only seven-time mayor in our town’s history, and Michael Mackintosh, a very accomplished citizen of our town, that happens to hold a degree in the field of private investigation, wondered aloud if Consent Gate was not a coincidence, but rather an obvious set up to ensure the council’s new decorum rules were passed.
The first sign of suspicious behavior was when, the Decorum Rules which were originally on the Consent Calendar, meaning no debate, was later, just prior to the start of the meeting, miraculously pulled off the consent calendar.
This never happens, good folks say. Maybe the Town Council had finally heard their beloved public?
Freedom of speech- yeah!
Not so fast there partner. Maybe there was an alternative motive behind all of this maneuvering . Do you know what transpired next, pertaining to the Decorum Ordinance?
Chapter 4: Shock Talk
Eventually that evening, the item was up for discussion. The public, the constituents, people in the room, get to speak first. Citizens were passionate and to the point. We want our freedom, they insisted. All was fine up to that point.
Then the Zoom callers were up to bat. And boy were they swinging.
The weird part about Zoom callers is, you really don’t know who they are, or where they are calling from, or what they look like, or even if they are real. It’s all a mystery behind that screen.
As opposed to citizens, who live in town, pay taxes in town, vote in town, have real names and show up in person at the “town” meeting. Hello? Can we see what’s happening here?
Zoom callers are often filled with special interest groups, people who don’t live in our town, who don’t vote in our town, who don’t pay taxes in our town, stacking up and influencing for or against important local issues that affect all of us living in town. That sounds unbelievable, but it’s true.
But what was even more unbelievable, as originally reported by Jenny, and confirmed by Frank and Michael, was the Zoom callers said the most outrageous comments, very hurtful words, pontificating vulgar vocabulary, all hidden behind the comfort of their own private Idaho, their safe space, their personal area code. Anonymous. They are alarmingly anonymous.
Chapter 5: The Conclusion
Was this a master class in Decorum Coincidental? Or did the Mayor and Council set up these faux outrageous Zoom calls, to prove a point? We really need to limit people’s free speech- look how mean people hidden behind masks are? Hear how inappropriate, dangerous, and hurtful, faceless people are?
We must stifle free speech! We must stop hate! We must create a false narrative. A stipulation of manipulation.
Are we saying this was all a set up? Not necessarily. Logic says yes, it was a scheme. The mayor wasn’t even fazed or shocked at the offensive and inappropriate words.
They, the Council, acted (badly), as if they were expecting these ridiculous phone calls.
Expecting outrageous Zoom zidiots.
You know what experienced people say? What a grown up might say? If it smells like a rat, it most likely is. What’s your gut say? What’s your intuition forecast?
We need a further investigation into these phone calls. How can we confirm this suspicious behavior or prove it was real?
As Jenny said – it was unbelievable. We’re back to thinking one word – unbelievable.
Decorum Coincidental.
(Mike Ghiringhelli has lived or worked in town since, like forever. He is a former mayor, council-member, Chamber President, and award winning Drake High School journalist. You can reach Mike at mg@ gfoods.net or the streets of Fairfax.)
Leave a Reply