Cry No More...

...or let the tears be tears of joy.

Until recently, the view provided by the Fourth Estate into all things Dunwoody has been narrow and proscriptive as if we were allowed to look at someone else's painting and then only through a narrow, tinted lense. The Dunwoody Fan Magazine had neither the chops, nor the inclination to serve the citizens or businesses of Dunwoody. It doggedly served the purpose of promoting the Farmhouser--Dunwoody Yes! machine that ramrodded Dunwoody into cityhood and was rewarded by being anointed the "Official Organ" of Dunwoody but did little to fulfill the role of the free press in a democratic society.

Living in Dunwoody does not have to mean ignoring, or worse yet, fearing everything outside Dunwoody. And there is more to Dunwoody than a navel-gazing "I, Me, Mine" government or the rather small group of vocal and intellectually incestuous Cro Magnon's who can somehow worship an iconic farmhouse whilst denying the more agnostic their homegrown eggs. It may surprise some to learn that Dunwoody was not dropped by god, whoever she may be, as a neo-Eden in an otherwise desolate landscape. In fact, Dunwoody is surrounded by our substantially more well-to-do Sandy Springs, the progressive and hip Brookhaven and the chic and savvy Buckhead.

And that part of the Fourth Estate that has so well served our neighbors has embraced Dunwoody.

The Reporter Newspapers have come to town bringing with them a modern look both in print and on the web, a fresh perspective, and exposure to goings on in and adjacent to our community. This paper is well produced, with professional layout, excellent use of color throughout, and provides relevant content from, shall we say, "more contemporary" sources. Contrast this with the Dunwoody Fan Magazine which resembles a farmer's almanac (is there a farmhouse tie-in here?) that caters to the folks who aren't convinced Celestine Sibley has passed. The Fan rag publishes a column by Don Farmer (can we get away from that word?), whilst The Dunwoody Reporter published a piece by Rick Callihan, a local blogger who actually lives in Dunwoody and though he has reportedly been seen at the community garden that is a garden, not a farm. Perhaps the Sibley Fan Club is confused, having missed the fact that Don and Chris moved to Florida some years back, and that the dashing gent on Channel 2 News that strongly resembles Don is actually his son, not the product of Demi Moore's plastic surgeon.

The Dunwoody Reporter brings us much more than an updated look. It offers a perspective not only on Dunwoody, but on the surrounding communities of which we should increasingly become a part. The expanded vista comes in the form of improved coverage in articles and columns, and also in broader, more extensive advertising. Subscription-free papers live and die on advertising, but some do it better than others.

Because the Reporter Newspapers serve neighboring communities and thereby the businesses in those communities, they are better positioned to serve our community as well. In the past only word of mouth or the web would have led someone in Dunwoody to venture to Brookhaven to dine at Au Rendezvous or Sandy Srpings for Canton Cooks. Surely there are many in Dunwoody who would want to know there is an excellent new gun club and range offering training classes right on Roswell Road near Pitt. Now we have ready access to information about nearby products and services.

This goes both ways--expanded exposure in neighboring communities can only help Dunwoody's businesses. Could Mudcatz survive on Dunwoody alone? Perhaps, but they don't look "closed for renovations". Does anyone really believe there are no Banks and Shane fans left in Sandy Springs they could have tapped into? After all, Banks and Shane did operate a nightclub/restaurant in Sandy Springs for years. Surely being able to reach a broader range of potential customers in a high quality publication will help local businesses survive these hard times and thrive in better times.

After the war (the last we declared and won), it was said that "it's hard to keep 'em on the farm once they've seen Paree". Well, we've been held down on this farm for far too long and Paree is looking mighty fine.

Millar Distances Himself

Oh, yesterday's over my shoulder
So I can't look back for too long
There's just too much to see waiting in front of me
And I know that I just can't go wrong

That's right Fran, you just can't go wrong, so it must be us. Or that's his story and he's stickin' to it.

In the latest release of the Dunwoody Fan Magazine, Fran opines that we, the voters, (OK, 35% of the registered voters) were simply brilliant in voting for cityhood based on his advice and the advice of shills for CH2M Hill and the wannabe politicos running the Citizens for Dunwoody, but not so smart when it came to electing a mayor and council. Turns out it turned out the way these things generally turn out: it didn't pass the smell test then and now by golly, as the sweet perfume of his salesmanship dissipates, it is really raising a stink. Seems folks, not just The Other Dunwoody, have begun pointing out to their fine Rep that this cityhood thing is not at all what he said it would be. In fact, it is beginning to look like this is a scam of Madoff proportions.

So what's a successful politician to do? That's right. Duck and cover. "Please remember that the City Council chose to go in a different direction of governance than anticipated by most people." Not exactly a mea culpa, but Fran does acknowledge things aren't going well: "I see attempts for no-bid contracts and possibly hiring employees and vendors primarily because someone worked with them before." Sounds like Fran is seeing what we in The Other Dunwoody have seen all along--more of the same old cronyism in politics, except this time it's the frat boys and not the good old boys.

And after all, just what was "anticipated by most people"? Well that would be what they were sold/told by the leaders who brought this upon us. After shenanigans to get SB82 through the house and a manipulative referendum in mid-July scheduled well before publishing Task Force reports and in a presidential election year no less, Millar lays the blame at the feet of other politicians and the voters that supported them. How quickly he went from "we did it the right way" to they went another way.

Well, "Please don't blame me when you go to the polls" may not cut it this time. When a building advertised as glorious, innovative and safe collapses on top of folks the architect and engineer should expect to be held responsible. And that's just what...wait...what's that sound? Is it? Can it be? Yes! It is! It's Fran! Fran jammin' to Boofay...

With these changes in platitudes, changes in attitudes
Nothing remains quite the same
With all of my running and all of my cunning
If I couldn't laugh I just would go insane
[everybody!]
If we couldn't laugh we just would go insane
If they weren't all crazy they would go insane

TOD

Kick 'em when they're up, kick 'em when they're down

Kick 'em when they're stiff, kick 'em all around

Dirty little secrets, dirty little lies
We got our dirty little fingers in everybody's pie
Love to cut you down to size, we love dirty laundry

We can do the innuendo, we can dance and sing
When it's said and done, we haven't told you a thing
We all know that crap is king, give us dirty laundry

Let it be known from the outset that The Other Dunwoody is no fan of Shrill Jill, but this is beginning to look like a vendetta. With all that is going on in Dunwoody, starting the city, selecting service providers, a mugging at Redfield, murder on Cotillion, assault rifle theft at Perimeter, the Dunwoody Fan Magazine (aka The Crier) wastes a front page headline and significant ink to beat up on Jill Chambers.

It isn't that Representative Chambers doesn't deserve to have these events presented to the public, but it has little relevance to issues confronting Dunwoody today. While Ms. Chambers does indeed live in Dunwoody, she represents only a small area of our fledgling city with most of her constituents residing in Doraville and unincorporated DeKalb. In fact, the ethics complaint does not come from a Dunwoody resident.

All the while there are significant issues with our own city council members that warrant more than a few questions and a better public vetting than they have yet to receive. Perhaps if we had a competent fourth estate on the job we mere citizens would have greater confidence that this city is moving forward without undo influence from self interested individuals and organizations.

Come on Crier, the cause is won. The trophy is on the shelf. The promotions succeeded and you have been selected as an official organ. Now it is time to direct your attention to a new set of politicians that deserve no less scrutiny than any others.

TOD

City Struggles with Transparency

In its first official meeting the Dunwoody City Council faced two issues related to transparency.

First was the selection of a legal organ. There is a universal desire to reward Dick Williams for his unwavering support of cityhood, but the Crier is a weekly and that doesn't suit the council's desires for advance public notice. (You decide why.) It was proposed that there be two : the AJC, allowing for as short a notice as legally allowed, and the Crier for the aforementioned reasons. Everyone happy? Not so fast. A strong suggestion was made to get a city website in place ASAP. It was a well-reasoned, informative suggestion and did not meet with the resistance one might have expected. Let's all hope it happens.

Surprisingly (or maybe not so), this meeting saw the first open records request. What is certainly surprising is the respondent: John Heneghan! Perhaps it was an ethical contact high, but Councilman Heneghan had to discuss the matter before determining the document under question was indeed a public record. The document? It starts like this:

MEMORANDUM

TO: Mayor and Council, City of Dunwoody
FR: Dan Weber
DATE: Tuesday, September 30, 2008

RE: Hybrid Budget

To assist in your decision making process, ...

How could anyone think that a memorandum addressed to the Mayor and Council regarding the most significant issue facing this city, with the stated intent of influencing their decision, could be seen as "a private conversation between two individuals"??!

Folks, it isn't that hard, at least not if you really believe in transparency. There are only two rules:

1. If the council is discussing employee pay, promotion, discipline, or dismissal, it is private as is other employee personal information.
2. Everything else belongs to the public and should be provided for public review, preferably on the internet---it is the 21st century after all.
   

The latter should include all communications, written, email, telephone and oral. Yes, oral. If lobbyists knew that officials were publishing a meeting report to those they serve (remember us? the citizens? the voters?) politics might be a better thing. All memos, all source material under review, all RFPs and responding proposals, and all email correspondence should be promptly and in some cases automatically, posted. It should also include all phone records, calls received and placed, parties on the call, duration, purpose of the call, and topics of conversation.

The technology is there to make this happen. Do it.

TOD

Two Requirements for a City of Integrity

If you believe, as we in The Other Dunwoody believe, that total transparency is a minimal requirement of good governance, then the very first thing the newly formed City of Dunwoody must do is establish a virtual City Library. This should be an online repository hosting all meeting notices, agendas, minutes, videos of all council meetings, recordings of conference calls, ordinances, proposed and signed contracts, proposed and approved budgets--in fact, every bit of information used or created by this city, except personal information of employees. And neither elected officials nor contractors are employees.

In a well managed city where no less than total transparency is acceptable, there is no need for open records requests because all records are already open and available online. If there needs to be a law to make this happen, then perhaps the first ordinance passed should include detailed requirements for maintaining transparency and penalties for failure to do so.

We know this can be done. How? First, other organizations and municipalities do it. Second, Citizens for Dunwoody, Dunwoody Yes!, and Dunwoody Candidate have demonstrated an amazing ability to put up (and take down) a web site when it suits their needs. Many of these same folks are now elected officials and it is high time for them to demonstrate they can put up a web site that suits the citizens needs--both in content and timeliness.

The second requirement can only be met by the private sector. Dunwoody needs a legitimate Fourth Estate rather than the fan magazines currently available. To be fair, Dunwoody is served by two weekly newspapers, one dedicated solely to Dunwoody and the other covering much of DeKalb as well. But these are free weeklies depending on ad revenue to survive and this business model will not support the kind of investigative reporting Dunwoody deserves. The kind that might result in controversy that negatively impacts ad revenues.

While neither of the current offerings suffice, Dunwoody must create a Press able to endure the consequences of taking principled stands, of demanding to look at what someone wants hidden. The citizens of Dunwoody must demonstrate a willingness to support this Press, or the Press must adapt to new technologies and business models to maintain viability.

To excel, Dunwoody needs transparency in government and a strong press to ensure transparency is maintained.

All of Dunwoody deserves no less than excellence.

TOD