Winston Brooks is not the only one.

The new superintendent of the APS is not the only powerful
public servant who will not show up at a town hall meeting.

He is not the only powerful public servant who will not stand
for legitimate questions, and then provide candid, forthright
and honest responses.

Chief of Police Ray Schultz will not.

Mayor Marty Chavez will not.

Governor Bill Richardson will not.

Congressional candidate Darren White will not.

District Attorney Kari Brandenburg will not.

Right off the top of my head, I cannot think of a single
head of any agency of government with the character and
the courage to simply answer legitimate questions.

They all escape town hall meetings by abusing power.

I don't know that any of these people are powerful in their own right. They are powerful because they are in temporary control of a great deal of power; power that belongs fundamentally to the people.

They are able to escape town hall meetings,
they are able to avoid legitimate questions
about their use of our power and resources,
by abusing that power and those resources.

There is no good and ethical reason to avoid legitimate questions.

The only compelling reason is to avoid accountability.

I am dumbfounded that people are elected, and entrusted
with control over enormous amounts of power and resources,
and are able to simply decline to respond to legitimate
questions about their public service.

It was not voters, who decided that there will not be candid, forthright and honest accountability in public service. That decision was made by corrupt and incompetent public servants who need(ed) to be able to cover up their corruption and incompetence.

Voters are letting them get away with it.

They say you get the government you deserve.

I would argue that we deserve better government than we have,

even those among us who are unwilling to do anything to ensure that government is good.


At the very least, we should never elect another public servant who will not stand and deliver candid, forthright and honest responses to legitimate questions about their public service, and about our power and resources.

At the very least, we can deny them even another dime of our money, for so long as they are unwilling to answer legitimate questions about how it has been, is being, and will be, used.

Those who have an interest in doing
more than the very least
have an opportunity;

turn every appearance of a public servant into
a town hall meeting; whether they like it or not.

Start asking the questions, in public and on the record,
whether they want to answer them or not.

Show up at the public forum of the next school board meeting,
and ask the leadership of the APS to respond candidly,
forthrightly and honestly, to the legitimate question;

Why will you not hold regular town hall meetings,
there to respond candidly, forthrightly and honestly,
to all legitimate questions?