I know, personally, everyone on the city council and can assure you that they do not take orders from the mayor. It is true that they all work together as a team, which is something I like to see in my elected officials.

Why is it when there’s a group of elected officials working together openly and successfully, some people have to portray it as some deep conspiracy?

This line of comment began with the announcement that the mayor’s chief of staff was hired to manage the CCDC and discussed the efforts of the mayor and council to get CCDC and GBAD in line with the city’s vision for downtown development.

If you have a problem with that vision, what’s yours? Get involved in local government; you might be surprised that it can work.

Are you so presumptious to think that the City is ALWAYS working in the right direction?

If city officials have the majority of those boards and influence, then they might as well simply be a department of the city- city parks meet the new city commerce department.

EDITOR NOTE–Chances are nil at the moment due to cities having so much cash to use for lobbying through association of cities, direct lobbying, etc. Here is an attempted/pending abuse of the system in Caldwell. http://caldwellguardian.blogspot.com/2013/05/tvcc-wants-urban-renewal-to-fund-20k.html

It was not you but “Gary” who made the snide and unsupported comment: “His Econ Director is more of a PR guy than anything else.”

My aging memory module confused that comment, which immediately followed your article, with the what YOU actually wrote probably because it felt like something you WOULD say.

I think you make a good point about bringing CCDC under city council. You might have success with such a campaign were you to check your attitude and try working WITH “team Dave” on something you might agree on.

I recall that when an earlier ED was hired, he had been running the Seattle stadium commission. People with those skills don’t come cheap.

I see that you edited out your earlier snipe at Mr. Brunelle’s qualifications. I have no reason to doubt his qualifications for the job. Do you?

EDITOR NOTE–We haven’t edited out anything and simply don’t have an opinion regarding the skills of Mr. Brunelle, the Bieter staffer. His current boss (Bieter Chief of Staff) was passed over last time for the $140,000 a year job.

Full disclosure: The GUARDIAN has a long history of opposing the FUNDING mechanism of CCDC. It operates with diverted tax revenues, enjoys full city services, and reports to NO ELECTED BODY. While the mayor and two councilors are elected, they do not serve as elected members of the CCDC board. As stated previously, we would like to see the CCDC board either elected or replaced by the city council. Authority to spend tax money without scrutiny from an elected body or voters goes against all that we believe in.

I seem to recall a lot of Guardian grousing over the years about the lack of accountability at both CCDC and GBAD. With the mayotr and two council members on the board, this move should bring the quasi-governmental agency under better city control. Wouldn’t it be refreshing to see the city, CCDC, GBAD and the convention & visitor’s bureau all working in the same direction?

The “apathy” of the 89 percent who didn’t vote may also be a sign that a lot of voters are satisfied with the way the mayor is doing the job. I can’t think of a place I’d rather live, and I DO vote!

EDITOR NOTE–We applaud your devotion to duty by voting. Gotta say your logic is hard to comprehend if you think it a “sign of satisfaction” for 89% to stay home! (Actually it was closer to 84% who stayed home, Bieter got a few NO votes). I would be happy to have ALL the members of CCDC be elected city councilors. That way they couldn’t hide behind the claim of being a private body not part of city government. The law does allow the council to disband the board and act as the agency. Does it make sense to you Rabula, to pay a guy with a staff of about 16 and a budget a fraction that of the city so much more than the office of mayor?