FAIRHOPE COUNCIL SHOWS IT'S COLORS
The present Fairhope City Council is going to try and pull every dirty trick they can to derail the Oct. 2nd election. The City Attorney is carrying out the Catalyst Council’s instructions as we speak. The City Attorney is and has been representing the City Council, not the citizens of Fairhope and not the Mayor.
https://lagniappemobile.com/attorney-generals-opinion-fairhope-petition-and-election-are-valid/
Stay tuned for an update later. The Ripp Report has hired an attorney to represent the constituents the council is ignoring and hopes to be able to provide some clarity to the Council’s recent, today’s, actions.
The below was submitted to The Ripp Report: VERY WELL SAID
Dear Mr. Ripp:
I have read with great interest your last three updates regarding the proposed change of government in Fairhope. Your blog and the local news outlets have reported on this extremely important event, but I feel like much needs to be pointed out that has not.
Everyone in town is asking who is responsible. Some claim that it is the council’s fault for not getting a quicker opinion; I think they are mistaken. The council had an opinion; it was just outdated–based on an earlier statute now revised (July 2018). They also failed to accept the opinion offered by the mayor on June 26, 2018, that was relayed from someone in the AG’s office. Their refusal to listen has cost them irreparably. They will soon likely be running for their political lives, clamoring for waning support in a new government.
What is happening right now may be because of this council but it is not directly their responsibility. What has happened with little fanfare is that under the Alabama Constitution 800-plus Fairhope citizens signed a petition and had it accepted by the probate judge as valid. This triggered a 90-day period in which an election for the item stated on the petition must be held. This is the Alabama petition process. It is an extremely powerful, democratic measure.
Petition and recall are two lesser-used tools citizens can use to keep their leaders in check. In Alabama recall is difficult, if not impossible. However, petitioning the government is made much easier as the threshold for signatures is “ten percent of those who voted in the most recent local election.”
So, what is happening is that more than 800 citizens decided to band together to get this new government initiative on the ballot. This was a move that specifically circumvents the city council, as it is designed to do so. It is a measure the citizens can use to affect needed change–especially when the governing body is ineffective, recalcitrant and/or corrupt.
It is telling that the city council is trying to stop this citizen display of power, as the people Tuesday, or at some later date, will have the ultimate say regarding the city’s future.
Anonymous
FAIRHOPE – CATALYST a Dirty Little Secret
FAIRHOPE – CATALYST a Dirty Little Secret | THE RIPP REPORT / BALDWIN COUNTY LEGAL EAGLE
The Fairhope City Council is an “at Large” elected Council. Each of the members of the Council is deeply connected to the machine named for now, Catalyst; some by blood. The present council was…
Source: rippreport.com/2018/09/21/fairhope-catalyst-a-dirty-little-secret/
From Facebook: Mayor Karin Wilson of Fairhope, Alabama Your special election for the Council-Manager form of government scheduled on 10/2 will NOW be delayed until the general election on 11/6. This is a decision which will be announced directly from the Judge of Probate’s office and I will share more details when these become available. Rest assured, I will make certain municipal voters are well-informed and that this change will not disenfranchise citizens on YOUR referendum to vote on a new form of government.