Columbus City Council held a hearing Monday, April 6 at 3pm to discuss the contract negotiated by President Hardin and the Haslan Group to bring professional women’s soccer to Columbus.
The details were completed by him and his staff without input from the community. The hearing was supposed to be a simple hurdle before approval from City Council.
The “Guest Speakers” Take the Microphone
After the lengthy introduction all of the guest speakers (chosen by City Council) lauded women’s soccer and made claims that having a team would make a huge positive difference in the future of our city.
Surprising that these so called “experts” all left out a few important points of information such as…
- …how the local neighborhood of McCoy Park had already worked with the city for years to re-design and re-build the park. This entire agreement was built on thousands of hours of trust between the city and the residents. All of that would be destroyed. None of those residents were consulted by Shannon Hardin.
- …the number of other sports teams that have come with city financial backing and then failed; or what was learned from their failures.
- …that this is one of the last plots of “green space” on the South side where poverty and life expectancy are both more challenging than access to women’s Soccer.
- …the Haslam Group that is pushing this move is owned by a billionaire who can already afford anything he wants, but loves to have government pay for it anyway (Cleveland Browns).
The guest speakers (again, chosen by City Council) kept repeating the identical message of support without question. Of course, the guest speakers that they selected were all connected to women’s soccer in one way or another.
It was a beautiful method of administration to put people in front of you that will only talk about the decision you have already made (or want to make).
Public Testimony Begins
More than a dozen people spoke about how sports changed their lives. The pre-written marketing points that speakers repeated:
- Fear of missing out “F.O.M.O.” – if Columbus doesn’t spend millions of dollars on behalf of a billionaire some other city will.
- This will be wonderful for little girls. They need our support and this is the only way to provide it.
- The league that this women’s soccer team would be a part of is the best in the country. How many different women’s soccer leagues exist? Nobody knows; either way, everyone kept bragging about how great the league was.
The Rooster Arrives. Entertainment Continues.
The hardest working person in Columbus, D.J. Brynes of “The Rooster,” was there to describe why giving the Haslam Group millions of dollars of our tax revenue is just silly.
The entertaining part of his presentation was watching Bankston squirm in his leather seat and avoid eye contact. It reminded me of teaching elementary school when I had to ask a child who took the scissors out of my desk without asking? Same facial expression and body posture.
He was also verbally aggressive with one of the citizens who gave critical testimony, but she handled it like a pro. He, on the other hand, showed that he is in dire need of a pet at home for emotional comfort.
And then Democracy Died inside City Hall.
Half of City Council got up without explanation and walked out.
No reason given. No explanation. They had somewhere else to be instead of listening to the citizens who pay for their salaries.
Shannon Hardin, Emmanuel Remy, Christopher Wyche,
Rob Dorens, and Lourdes Barroso de Padilla.
You are encouraged to email them and ask why they walked out of the meeting. By keeping it a secret they hold on to the power and control; it makes their ego stronger by holding that secret. Maybe a little “passive aggressive,” yet it’s happened in City Hall before.
Paid “public servants” refusing to do their jobs; and insulting the citizens who spent their time and effort to share their opinions. Citizens who love Columbus and put in the effort to drive to City Hall to share their opinions and ideas.
I’ve gotten used to being treated like my ideas and opinions are worthless by some members of City Council. At first I was shocked, but over time you get used to it. I felt sorry for everyone else who was new to the feeling. For them it was a “learning experience.”
Who knows if it had anything to do with my previous article on anocracy, but it was a coordinated walk out to show that they still held all the power inside City Hall.
If they didn’t like what you had to say then they had the privilege to insult you, your time, and your effort in the most brutal way possible.
I’m hoping that these members of City Council walked out of the meeting because they wanted to work on improving services for the homeless, addressing private equity buying over 20 percent of single family homes in Columbus (driving up prices), or review the next stage of Zone In?
This isn’t how a Healthy Democracy Works.
Everyone agreed that Women’s soccer would be great for Columbus, but since half of City Council had already walked out (there’s no rule against doing this; they have no job description or attendance policy) few of them heard the critical questions.
- All of Shannon Hardin’s discussions were done in secret. No meeting minutes posted.
- Community leaders were not allowed to participate or review his decisions ahead of time.
- The location of the new training facility was chosen without input from local community leaders or residents.
When Melissa Green heard that there was already a plan in place to re-build McCoy Park she was visibly distressed.
It quickly dawned on her that choosing McCoy Park would violate years of work by the residents. Nobody had even bothered to tell her. Shannon Hardin had been successful at keeping as much information away from her and other members of City Council.
The Haslam Group wanted an undeveloped area near downtown. The residents who use the park can go somewhere else.
This isn’t How a Healthy Democracy Works.
Over a hundred people played soccer on the steps of city hall with music and mascots before the meeting.
They celebrated Women’s soccer and the death of democracy at the same time.
Want to Learn More?
If you love women’s soccer, democracy, and the future of McCoy Park consider contacting Liz Reed. She won’t walk out of a meeting with you without providing a reason. She has empathy.
https://www.instagram.com/rooster.info/reel/DW2bzHYCC2o/