After reading a published article by Mike Finney, “After hospitalization, Dover mayor addresses council’s decorum,” I write to express concern regarding the mayor’s recent absences from several scheduled City Council meetings and events. These gatherings are vital for discussing community priorities, making timely decisions and ensuring transparency in our city’s governance. While I understand that unforeseen circumstances can arise, in this matter, the mayor’s health was declining, according to the published article, and he was quoted as stating, “(T)he flu … was shutting down a couple of my other systems.” What I found particularly alarming was that members of City Council and the mayor’s constituents were detached from what was happening or who was running the city. When my neighbors asked some members of City Council, “Where has the mayor been?” they were told that the members did not know or that they had not seen him in a month. I think, out of pure courtesy and respect, the mayor could have advised of his absence, at the minimum, through a spokesperson.
In our federal form of government, we have the 25th Amendment to protect a lapse in authority from the president of the United States. I think Dover needs to do better and create an updated system, where it clarifies the line of succession, with specific procedures for handling situations when the mayor is unable to perform his duties, to include being placed under anesthesia or suffering organ failure. Plus, there should be notification for the citizens.
As I continued reading the article, it appeared as though the mayor was attempting to deflect his health issues by criticizing City Council and its decorum. The mayor further stated that he is “not required to be at those (council) meetings,” and he doesn’t know if he is going back to them. I cannot confirm whether the mayor is required to be present at City Council meetings, but I recently viewed a posting by City Councilman David Anderson on social media, which stated, “I guess the Mayor needs to read the Charter again. He can’t skip for no reason, See Article 2, Section 13 (b) (4). I don’t understand why the Mayor has to deflect.”
In closing, the absence of leadership during these council sessions can delay important initiatives and affect public confidence in leadership.
Louis Orangeo
Dover
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
