November 18 marked another red-letter day in Cuba City Council history. Alderman Jeff Bouse accused Alderwoman Joyce Hartzell, in the plainest possible language, of lying. His simple words, as he pointed directly at her: “Joyce, you are a liar.”
Bouse was not the first to brand Hartzell a liar at the meeting. Earlier, during citizen participation, Rena Martin accused Hartzell of filing a false police report, arguably one of the worst kinds of lying because a police report can be the basis of criminal action against a person. It is my understanding that there will be a court hearing based on Hartzell’s claims and then we will all find out who is…and isn’t…a liar.
You would think accusations of lying by an alderwoman would be enough to mark the meeting as a red-letter day, but no...this is Cuba…and there was more to come. And, as is so often the case, the Mayor was again the subject of alleged misconduct.
Before the meeting began, Dan Eidson, then Secretary of the Cuba Park Board, handed out to some of the aldermen a copy of minutes of an executive meeting held by the Park Board. I don’t know what was in those minutes because the public is not privy to matters discussed in executive meetings.
But I do know that during citizen participation, Dan told the Board of Aldermen that he handed out the minutes because he was fairly certain some of them had never before seen the minutes even though a copy had been given to the Mayor several months previously. Dan’s statement was confirmed by Aldermen Pitts Lesesne and Jeff Bouse, both of whom told Dan they had not seen the minutes before Dan handed them out that night.
Pitts Lesesne is an alderman from Ward 2. I live in Ward 2, so Pitts is my alderman. And now I want to know… Mr. Mayor, what have you been hiding from my alderman for the last several months?
Mr. Mayor, you have no right to hide from the alderman information that is relevant to government of the city. It is time for you to come clean.
Jackie Hunt
Cuba
