30 April 2018
From the Office of the Mayor, greetings,
It has come to my attention that, as a result of recent legislative action, Deputy Mayor Patchy319 has decided to resign from his position as Deputy Mayor of the City of Redwood. I would like to start out by thanking former Deputy Mayor Patchy319 for his service and efforts toward the City of Redwood. Regardless of anything else, I truly do appreciate all that you’ve done for the City, as well as assisting me in managing the city. Thank you for running with me in the elections, thank you for helping to set up the discord, thank you for putting your input on bills and other actions, and thank you for your effort to improve the City of Redwood. Moving to address Deputy Mayor Patchy319’s resignation letter, as there are some discrepancies that have additionally come to my attention. To start, I did not force Patchy319 to do anything, it was his conscious decision to resign from Deputy Mayor for his own reasons, whether that being he disagreed with Redwood City Ordinance 10, he thought I was trying to get rid of him, or whatever other variable you may add in. By no means is it my goal to remove anyone from office, especially my own Deputy Mayor. Patchy319 believes it to be true that I do not want him helping the City of Arborfield…this is simply not true. I advised Patchy319 via discord chat logs that I did not mind him helping the City of Arborfield, to which I did not, but it became an issue when he became a member of staff within another city. I explicitly told Deputy Mayor Patchy319 that I did not mind him assisting or advising in a non-official capacity, which is the exact opposite of what happens. There are a few different reasons I acted upon this accordingly:
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Being an elected official in one municipality and an official in another municipality simultaneously is unrealistic and unheard of. There is reason for this as well, as potential conflicts of interest may arise as a result. Additionally, an elected official should be focused on their municipality by which they were elected to. You don’t hear about someone being a City Alderman and a Senator as well, and if you do, I’m intrigued to hear about it.
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There is a line between helping and suggesting ideas to another municipality and being in two different municipalities simultaneously. Deputy Mayor Patchy319 was in the second category of being an official in two different municipalities simultaneously.
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The potential for legal issues to arise is a factor. Patchy319 represents not only himself, but represents the City of Redwood, and the City of Arborfield. If someone decides to sue Patchy319 for whatever reason you choose to throw into the hat, both the City of Redwood AND the City of Arborfield could potentially be affected as a result. Cities are ‘municipal corporations,’ and as a result, if there is any legal action that takes place with an official of the city, that city as a whole could be held liable and be sued as a result. Corporations are viewed as a single entity in the eyes of the law, and this is the same for a municipal corporation, in other words, a city government.
As far as Deputy Mayor Patchy319’s statement that most to all bills that he presented failed or did not pass, there are two that come to mind, the first one being ‘A Bill to Limit Occupancy and Crowds at Emergency Scenes,’ which essentially sought to limit the number of people allowed within a building and limit people’s freedom of movement. This was a major legal issue, so I advised him against the bill, to which he chose to retire it. The second bill, which he mentioned, was a bill for funerals. This bill, while not a bad idea at all, had multiple issues with it. The bill directly violated Article Eight of the city charter by exceeding the permissible boundaries for fines and jail time for violations of city ordinance, the more notable ones being Section 2B, which states that any interference with a funeral service is declared a misdemeanor, a ‘very disrespectful offense,’ and carries jail time of 700 seconds. Another being a fine as much as one thousand dollars for ‘excessive security’ at funerals. Additionally, the bill would’ve attempted to mandate law enforcement to assist with funerals. As a municipal government, we have no authority over county and statewide law enforcement, and such a bill would be unenforceable. In response to the multiple problems with the bill, I did veto the bill, but I also told Deputy Mayor Patchy319 that he could fix the bill and present it again to council, to which he chose not to do.
As a final address, I acknowledge Deputy Mayor Patchy319’s advice toward the City Council and the people of the City of Redwood. I have said this before, and I will say it again. To me, being Mayor is not about winning the popularity contest, I understand and expect people to not like some of the actions I take, and I fully expect some people to not like me for it. I also acknowledge that being Mayor requires you to make the decisions that nobody else wants to make, bring the conversation that nobody else wants to have into discussion, and overall ensure that your city and the people of it are receiving the best services and representation from the city government that you can provide. I did not come after Deputy Mayor Patchy319, and if anyone believes that I specifically targeted him, you are wrong. I would do the same for any other elected position within the City, this includes Aldermen and myself especially. What does it look like with me being the Mayor of Redwood and on the City of Arborfield or the District of Prominence’s staff? It doesn’t make sense. This is my official statement concerning the resignation of Deputy Mayor Patchy319. I viewed patchy as a friend, but I understand that he may not feel the likeness, which I acknowledge. Nevertheless, I wish former Deputy Mayor Patchy319 the best of luck in his future endeavors, whether it be the City of Arborfield, or any other occupation he wishes to pursue.
Cordially,
Jackson026
Mayor
City of Redwood
