Just after the last edition of Lagniappe hit the newsstands and appeared in avant-garde venues around the Eastern Shore, someone – a Lagniappe in hand – asked me why I didn’t write more about Daphne. Fairhope seemed to be getting all of my attention. Was I biased because I’m a Fairhopean and not a Daphne-ite?
Before answering, I first blessed him for reading the paper and asked how he knew that I wrote this column on Eastern Shore politics. I wondered if it were the picture, although no one had ever recognized me from it. I did once overhear two ladies wondering if it (the picture just above) was of “that pot grower in Grand Bay,” But he hadn’t even noticed the photo. Some in-the-know citizen pointed me out (as a writer).
So finally I replied, “Nothing happens anymore at the Daphne City Council meetings.” I added that once there had been excitement over the high rise ordinance. Passionate pronouncements that quality-of-life would be diminished (for us and the birds and the mammals and the reptiles). That Daphne would become another Gulf Shores (death before such dishonor). All kinds of exciting (but often factually dubious) oratory.
But after a year or so it just played out, lost steam. They passed a high rise ordinance and life as we knew it has continued pretty much as always. So in place of reporting on what interesting stuff is being done at the Daphne council meetings (nothing), I’ll tell you about the council members and how they sort of work together, to run the city.
The last couple of their meetings have been so uneventful that just before dozing off as an upcoming spaghetti dinner fund-raiser was being discussed, it hit me that the only other activity I could recall with so many formal processes taking so much time with so little accomplished was a Japanese tea ceremony. It is a beautiful ceremony, with complex choreography and colorful costumes. It changes an everyday act (making tea) into a near-religious experience. No tea actually gets drunk, but everyone feels they have been involved in something really meaningful.
So too is it with the council under President Greg Burnam. During a typical meeting, there are hours of empty formal ritual – sometimes convoluted enough that he loses track of where he is and has to be prompted by Clerk David Cohen. Although I have attended and reported on these meetings for about a year, I freely admit I cannot discern any agenda or goals on Burnam’s part. He appears to celebrate process and avoid action. Even his voting is hedged and qualified; he often hints that other factors (unnamed), not brought out at the public council meeting, have influenced his decision – I guess something more nuanced and subtle than what the council has been doing.
This is not to say that the council as a whole is ineffective, just that it so often is forced into tedious inefficiency and unfocussed discussion by its leader. In fact, Council members August (Gus) Palumbo and Cathy Barnette are both highly effective, well organized and function as informal leaders to fill the void. At key times each of them has jerked the proceedings out of lethargy and fog and into vigorous and enlightening debate – although they often are on opposite sides of an issue.
John Lake is generally a go-along, get-along sort of guy, but from time to time the debate either hits one of his hot buttons or he finally despairs of the seemingly endless process with no visible progress and starts hustling for closure. This happened with the high-rise ordinance – an ordinance that affected only his district.
It took over a year to finally pass and ended up very nearly as it started out – at least as to where it would be and how tall a building would be permitted. John was for it all along. Apparently so was most of his district, but until he asserted himself, the “anti’s” had control of the agenda – an agenda that appeared to be “death by delay.”
Bailey Yelding, Jr. and Ron Scott work about the same way on the council. Both are involved in the debate, but seldom lead the council to closure. They work their committee assignments and from their questions appear to watch closely for things that will impact their districts. Good solid soldiers, seemingly without hidden agendas (or maybe they have really well hidden ones I can’t discern).
The last council member is Regina Landry. She is the consensus builder and summarizer for the meetings. I cannot recall any major action she has taken the lead on, but often she is the person who gets the last (gentle and supportive) word on an issue. Sometimes she closes so well that the only thing left to do is actually vote on it. This skill often is under-appreciated. But it’s valuable, especially in a situation like the one facing the Daphne City Council. The appointed leader shows little ability to lead the council to closure on anything – except a decision to schedule another working session to work the process further.
And that’s my take on the Daphne City Council. My year-long observation of each member’s behavior and the interactions and group dynamics has been limited to public activities. Maybe when out of the public eye, Council President Burnam shows the leadership skills of General Patton and Cathy Barnette is quiet and acquiescent.
I guess stranger things have happened (maybe). But don’t rely on my skewed view, come to the council meetings and make your own assessment – especially if you vote in Daphne.
Contact Pete Gleszer at jubilee@lagniappemobile.com.
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