Mertzon City Council October 20 2025

Agenda Analysis | Meeting Review | Meeting Documents | Commentary | Last Meeting

I attended the No Kings protest in Austin on October 18. That’s the Capitol in the background. Some of the rhetoric used to discourage attendance was that the National Guard would be present to protect everyone’s safety since the attendees were members of a terrorist group and hated America.

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Agenda for this public meeting

A. Agenda Analysis

1. Stock agenda, items 5, 6 and 7: I have described this agenda in previous posts as the Council’s “stock” agenda. Every meeting agenda contains items 5, 6 and 7. There are no new matters being considered. That doesn’t mean this is an unimportant meeting, however. The Council can cover lots of territory in just these 3 items.

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The ultimate check in a backsliding democracy is “we the people”. Early estimates are that ~ 7 million participated nationally. The protest in Austin was entirely peaceful, and there were no protest related arrests. The National Guard was not necessary and was only marginally present. DPS managed the crowd safely and without antagonism. Historical note: "We the people" to our Founders was limited to white landholding men. Thankfully, today the meaning has been expanded beyond that. But, how far?

B. Meeting Review

1. Here are the meeting documents.

2. Approval of minutes, item 5a: So, there wasn't any new business taken up at this meeting. The minutes of 3 meetings were approved; see pages 3-5 of the meeting documents. Can a citizen protest the minutes? Yes, and on occasion I have considered it because the content is inaccurate or incomplete. Minutes are what become the official record of the governmental body, so at times they can become very important documents. To challenge them one would have to wait, in most cases, until they are formally approved by vote of the board/council. At the next meeting, one could speak in open forum about the minutes and ask that they be reconsidered. It seems far fetched, but it is possible. It would be up to the board/council to determine whether the minutes revision would be placed on the agenda for the next meeting. Again, far fetched, but possible.

3. Accounts payable: The meeting documents also regularly contain a document with account balances and account payables; see page 2 of the meeting documents. I always read this page because...wait, there's a payment to a jug keeper (bank) for $58,000+, that's huge...I think I'll ask about that... So, even when there's no new business going on it is important for citizens to participate.

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C. Commentary

The most productive response in a civil democratic society to protests you disagree with is a statement to the effect of "I disagree with the content of your protest, but I fully support your right to protest". This assures that when the winds change, as they often do, your own right to protest is not challenged, while at the same time leaving space for all to have varying degrees of disagreement over the content of what you are saying. The right to protest is what we all should all agree on, not the content of the speech. "I love America more than any other country in the world and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually." James Baldwin

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Copyright 2025 G. Noelke