City council continues quarrel with mayor’s office over commission appointment

Bloomington, Indiana – Following the council’s meeting on Wednesday, tensions between the mayor’s office and Bloomington City Council are still rising.

Before the council met on October 16, Mayor Kerry Thomson suggested that a member be appointed to fill a vacancy on the Historic Preservation Commission. Before the mayor takes office, their appointment must be approved by the city council.

The council could have held a vote on the appointment at that meeting, but they chose not to.

On October 19, Thomson sent a critical email to the nine members of the city council, accusing them of “intentionally avoiding public discussion.”

In the email, she added that ten minutes prior to the October 16 meeting, a male council member had called to request that her appointment be put on hold, arguing that a vote on the matter would not go well for the mayor.

Thomson stood at the city council on November 6 to let the members know that her HPC appointment was no longer being considered.

“I chose to appoint the sole non-white male applicant to the HPC,” Thomson stated.
“Unfortunately, because the initial appointment process was inhospitable, my original appointment—the only applicant of any diversity—no longer wishes to be considered for this volunteer position.”

Councilwoman Hopi Stosberg responded to Thomson’s remarks from November 6 during her report period this Wednesday.

According to Stosberg, “filling out a demographic box does not entitle you to serve on the HPC.” Furthermore, someone shouldn’t be automatically disqualified from any employment just because they checked the “white male” box.

According to Stosberg, focusing on demographics rather than qualifications leads to “unqualified” individuals occupying positions of authority.

She concluded by stating that she had found “white males” who were “qualified” for the HPC position after reviewing the applications. She reiterated that their demographic should not have prevented them from being taken into consideration.

The council and the mayor’s office have been at odds recently, despite Thomson’s October 19 email campaigning for “collaborative government.”

During a debate about the department on October 30, deputy mayor Gretchen Knapp reportedly accused council members Matt Flaherty and Kate Rosenbarger of having a stake in the pay of planning and transportation staff.

“For the public’s benefit, I must draw attention to the fact that her sister, who was also Councilmember Flaherty’s wife, was the previous assistant director until a few months ago, which may be one of the reasons why Councilmember Rosenbarger is so interested in this department,” Knapp stated.

Flaherty arrived at the meeting on November 6 and prepared remarks in response to Knapp’s remarks. He proposed using Robert’s Rules, the council’s code of etiquette, against Knapp.

The procedures outlined in Robert’s Rules specify how council members must communicate with one another. By extending the norms of decorum to public commenters, Flaherty’s attempt to apply Robert’s norms to Knapp’s remarks may violate the public’s First Amendment rights.

According to Stosberg, the legislative and executive parts of city government are separated “for a reason” when it comes to collaboration between the mayoral administration and the city council.

She stated that the two branches of government are meant to balance and check one another. To the best of our abilities, we are expected to ensure that the other branch is not going too far. We ought to be asking each other questions all the time, and asking questions isn’t always an indication of disagreement.

The legislative and executive branches will not always hold the same opinions, Stosberg emphasized.

“It is not our responsibility to approve the mayoral administration,” Stosberg stated. “Perhaps we should remind ourselves that this is business, not personal.” On December 4, the council will convene once more.