Transparency

A weak commission form of governnment which is what North Bay Village has by design. This concept relies on some baseline assumptions.

1. The commission will be composed of local citizens with the city's best interest at heart and not professional politicians.
2. A professional city manager will be employed who will guide the execution of the strategy set by the commission.
3. The community will be involved and their involvement will be welcomed.

So far this has eluded some of our commissioners and many of our citizens.

Today, let's talk about Connie Leon-Kreps. It's important to remember that she did not win an election to her post - she won a lawsuit. Not one voter in North Bay Village ever had the chance to vote for or against her.

Kreps served a previous term as a commissioner in North Bay Village and other than Dr. Vogel, has the most experience on the commission. Yet at last week's special meeting with one resolution, she was unaware that if she wanted to put conditions on a resolution to pass, she needed to propose an amendment rather than simply saying her vote is conditional, which does nothing. An experienced commissioner of normal intelligence would know that.

That same evening during the commissioners workshop, she felt that information from a non resident was so urgent that she pushed through a motion to hear it, knowing full well that there was nothing germane to be added.

Connie Leon-Kreps spent the first part of the workshop arguing pointlessly that the meeting time has to be set for 7:30 no matter what.

In January, she sponsored a measure to reject the protest of the Waste Management contract and then voted against herself. It was clear she had not put the resolution on and never read it. That was disgraceful.

Kreps has consistently made unquantifiable and impossible to verify statements that she is hearing from citizens around the city about what a great job the city management is doing. Perhaps she is hearing this but she does not share when or from whom and is dismissive to the point of rudeness to others who disagree.

North Bay Village is stuck with her, for a while anyway, and I admit I don't like her. I believe her to be shrewd rather than intelligent. Kreps seems to believe that a position of power is the power to bully. Her comments and actions seem contemptuous of our governing principles. I doubt that she has the ethical or intellectual capacity to step up to the role she grabbed and sincerely hope I am wrong.

Kevin Vericker
March 28, 2011