Public Forum : Ashland City Council Business Meeting 7/6/21
From Susan Hall RN
Tonight , I want to address the conduct of Councilor Jensen as it relates to the recently adopted Ashland City Council Code of Conduct. I will also critique the behaviors of Councilors Graham and Hyatt. Please place this testimony on the record for tonight’s meeting.
To define Councilor Jensen’s behavior since the Council adopted a Code of Conduct as egregious is an understatement. Councilor Jensen first stated he wanted to “ lower the temperature” of the sometimes volatile City Council meetings. That sounded very promising. However, after City Attorney Lohman retired and the interim City Manager, Adam Hanks resigned, Counselor Jensen’s tune changed.
On June 16, 2021, the local paper (Ashlandtidings.com) reported Councilor Jensen had stated:
“ This resignation can be laid squarely at the feet of our mayor and two councilors, who have demonstrated stunning levels of dishonesty , personal attacks and inability to come close to anything resembling responsible municipal governance. Having the city attorney resign because of this kind of behavior was tragic in itself—to have both the city attorney and a very able city manager resign is beyond understanding.”
Councilor Jensen’s statement created divisiveness that contributed to the City Council’s destabilization and ineffectiveness. This type of behavior is exactly what the Code of Conduct admonishes against.
NOW
Fast forward to The Special City Council Meeting of 6/29/21.
Councilor Jensen and his Council collaborators , Ms. Graham and Ms. Hyatt instigated what amounted to a “hostile takeover” of the Council meeting. Rather than supporting Mayor Akin’s and Interim City Manager Adam Hank’s efforts to fashion a recruitment plan for hiring vital missing staff, these three derailed the ongoing Council work which was proceeding on behalf of the people of Ashland.
Councilor Jensen’s monolog attacking Mayor Akins, and fellow Councilors Moran & DeQuenne made a mockery of his stated devotion to work for Ashland’s benefit. Simultaneously, Councilors Graham & Hyatt dominated the remaining meeting time in a rogue fashion and disregarded the 6:30 end time.
Shame on all three of you!
The hypocrisy has not been lost on us.
As Mr.Jensen is so fond of doing ….I offer this definition
Hypocrisy (noun):
“ The practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one’s own behavior does not conform.”
In my opinion, Councilors Jensen, Graham& Hyatt have each blatantly transgressed the standard of behavior acceptable for an Ashland City Councilor. Their collective divisiveness is destructive to Ashland.
I request all three Councilors be held responsible for their behavior in accordance with the City Council’s Code of Conduct.
Susan Hall RN
Ashland
