Mayor Blakespear: “I did not intend to have this be a public execution.”
I wanted it to be private by phone call and instant compliance. That damn Bruce Ehlers had to make his execution a big, public issue — and during a City Council meeting of all things!
Listen, I’m mayor. It’s my party and I’ll lie if I want to. I can have conflicts of interest galore, but I never have to recuse myself. I can cater to the BIA, my PACs and my developer friends while bearing no guilt or responsibility. And so can any member of the City Council — that’s our right as elected officials.
Residents? Citizens? Pfft! Thank you for your comments, which I ignore. What do you think this is? A representative democracy?
I pay no attention to your input, but you have to abide by my no-clapping rule during council meetings. I got that idea from the California Coastal Commission. They’re just as corrupt and unresponsive to the public as the Encinitas City Council, so that makes them a perfect model to follow.
And to answer one speaker’s question, no, you can’t clap for a recess. I gavel a recess whenever I’m about to lose my cool, and I don’t need any applause.
Bruce Ehlers has been so obviously biased in his Planning Commission decisions that I shouldn’t have to give examples. He’s been a naughty boy, and he deserves more than a spanking. He has had the unmitigated gall to criticize me and the City Council’s goals and policies. He fails to understand that the city does not challenge developers on the basis of the municipal code and state laws. We just rubber-stamp whatever they propose.
As mayor, I reserve the right to make petty, childish, arbitrary, vindictive political gestures. I enjoy the support of the council members in that right. As Councilwoman Hinze revealed by saying she would vote with the majority before the public knew what the majority was, we decided Bruce Ehlers’ fate before the meeting. Then we each devised an elaborate justification for our votes. That’s par for the course. It’s what we always do. We all look bored to death during the hearings because we already know the conclusions. The hearings are a charade.
It doesn’t matter that Bruce Ehlers is a man of high moral character, a genuine, principled man of integrity, a man who has served the best interests of the community for many years. What matters is he has not only stepped on my toes, he has stomped all over them. I will not be questioned. My motives and actions will not be sullied — especially when they deserve it.
I have my political future to protect. I cannot have Bruce Ehlers or anybody else jeopardize my ascension to the state Senate and governorship. Whoever gets in my way will suffer the same execution, whether in private or public. Mark my words!
