Our City Council members have a lot on their plates. They are people with busy lives and spend a great deal of time setting directions for the city and grappling with the challenges facing our community. That is no small task. With appreciation for the magnitude of their positions, I submit the following.
Via email, I submitted a resolution calling for an immediate and durable cease-fire in Gaza, with a list of local supporters/endorsers. I was asking Council to consider putting it on a meeting agenda to discuss and vote on. I received a response from only one Council member. So, I resubmitted it. Again I heard back from only one Council member, who told me it could not be introduced on the agenda due to lack of sufficient support.
Thus, I decided to present it a third time in person during the public comment period of the Feb. 13 City Council meeting. Also in attendance were younger city residents, many of whom have been directly affected by the current conflict. The reading of the resolution was followed by individual supporters speaking to a different aspect of the situation and how it connects to local history, events and decisions made here at home. The resolution had the support of over 1,500 people at that time, and as of this writing, it has over 1,800 supporters on a change.org petition.
I waited for a few days after the meeting to see if any response might be forthcoming. I gleaned that the silence of the individual Council members is tantamount to a rejection.
Of course, I am disappointed that our Council will not support the cease-fire resolution. The horrific events in Gaza are affecting many local residents of various ethnicities and religious affiliations. But, apart from their silence, I am concerned about how the majority of the members of the present Council did not even take a moment to acknowledge receipt of my communication.
Hours upon hours of work were put into researching, crafting, gaining supporters and presenting that resolution. For our city leaders to remain unresponsive when asked for a third time to consider the resolution does not bode well for democratic governance or for public participation in it.
— Anne Craig
Asheville
