So this is what democracy looks like

It's been almost a year since a new mayor and a gaggle of fresh alders took the helm. You'll be pleased to know that Fitchburg is a full participant in the fuzzy logic that muddies the political waters elsewhere.

A substantial portion of the electorate blames environmentalists and users of contraception for the Great Recession. Our local elected officials haven't (yet) wandered into sexual politics, but they have drunk the other Kool Aid -- namely, the risks posed by such nefarious notions as mass transit and environmental quality. 

Well, not all of them, just the proposals tainted by Ald. Steve Arnold.

Since his election as council president, Ald. Richard Bloomquist has continued his sniping against Arnold, who has had the temerity to question the joys and promise of conventional suburbia. Four other alders routinely participate in Bloomquist's mini-jihad.

Consider the council's reaction when Arnold suggested studying ways to limit unnecessary idling. Alders warned that mothers with small children might freeze to death. Commerce would come to grinding halt. Police would terrorize motorists with heavy-handed enforcement.

And when Arnold suggested the city discuss the feasibility of creating a new bus route, Bloomquist indignantly deemed the idea unworthy of consideration.

The council even even reversed a recommendation to install a yield sign at an intersection, apparently because Arnold was involved in the decision.

During this year's budget discussion, alders eventually thought better of proposals to completely eviscerate two commissions on which Arnold serves (the Resource Conservation Commission and the Transportation and Transit Commission), but not until they whacked a chunk off a payment to Madison Metro.

Nothing escapes Bloomquist's ire. The putative fiscal hawk opposed RCC's recommendation  to reduce the frequency of brush pickup. He made sure the RCC didn't get too much credit for installing a system to deposit outdated prescription drugs. He smelled deceit in the  cost of plastic bags used in a pilot program to collect organic waste and the labels for recycling containers.

When Bloomquist thought Arnold spoke too long, he accused him of engaging in a "tirade."

Some alders have groused about the two commissions' supposedly subversive, secretive activities but, as if to punctuate their contempt, don't even feign interest in the commissions' plans.

Bloomquist's contrarian views, which once seemed a matter of principal, have now curdled into the undigested rattlings of someone bent on revenge.

Revenge for what? The putative offense is fostering cumbersome and expensive regulations that have deterred economic development.

Or so I assume, because there's never been any open discussion of the hypothesis, just a skein of rumors and anecdotes. The Fitchburg Chamber of Commerce never complained, which perhaps isn't too surprising since it might as well be part of City Hall.  Mayor Shawn Pfaff apparently acted on the same unspecified complaints when he scuttled the process that let residents have a major role in crafting neighborhood plans.

Even the SmartCode seems to gall Bloomquist, although he mutes his criticism when developers (who praise the new zoning code) are within earshot.  It's probably just a coincidence that Arnold was instrumental in the adoption of the new code.

Diversity and collaboration?

The mayor and council frequently congratulate themselves for their support of diversity and collaboration.

Sort of. Diversity is acceptable as long as it doesn't involve real differences of opinion.

In addition to hostility toward the the two commissions noted above, the the mayor and council summarily disbanded the Broadband and Telecommunications Commission without even bothering to thank members for their service.

Their celebration of diversity has also worn a bit thin on the Plan Commission. During his campaign, Pfaff accused the Plan Commission of making "political" decisions, although he never offered any specific examples. Cynics might surmise that "nonpolitical" decisions are those that simply approve proposals and "political" decisions are those that raise questions.

The ghost of Ayn Rand

The current council is understandably eager to take credit for several new projects here,even if the improving economy and our proximity to Madison are largely responsible. This proclivity for self-congratulation is somewhat like a rooster taking credit for the sunrise.

Alders and administrators became giddy at the delights of a new interchange. No doubt I'm the only resident who occasionally finds the prospect of new development a decade or so hence about as alluring as learning that a neighbor plans on buying a new car -- and that I'll have to help make the payments. Moreover, I probably won't be around to enjoy the ride.

Some alders now seem to be channeling their inner Ayn Rands and occasionally feel free to simply make up things.

One warned against excessive restrictions on farmers' ability to sell land for development because land is their 401K account, seemingly unaware that a sizable proportion of the city's residents don't have a 401k, nor any prospect of acquiring one.  (If this means residents without a 401k get special dispensation to develop their property, I'm all for it. My lot might be suitable for a small meat-processing plant.)

Here's a news flash, folks: Many farmers are trying to cash in so they can move away from our fair city because they don't like what's happening. They're not peasants, scratching out a living. They're savvy businessmen. Some see the potential to make millions.

One alder opposed restricting development on hillsides since the day might come when technological advances make it possible to raise crops on any hunk of land. (So much for those Cassandras who think we need to preserve farmland).

Another alder recommended time limits on "permanent" conservation easements, which would make such easements meaningless.

Such digressions are perfectly acceptable now. Verboten is the discussion of silly notions like auto-dependent development or resilient communities.

Pfaff's pfacts

Pfaff 's campaign got a real boost when Jay Allen started to act like Rumpelstiltskin. Geniality has always paid dividends in Fitchburg politics.

And Pfaff's a clever fellow. He promulgated canards that the SmartCode was implemented in an undemocratic fashion. And of course the rancor on the council abated after he was elected since he and Bloomquist were largely responsible for most of the ruckus.

The council's conciliatory climate largely reflects its ability to deflect unwelcome opinions without fear of contradiction.

Sometimes Pfaff gets too clever: He simultaneously supported the new library while distributing campaign literature criticizing the increased taxes associated with the new library. He occasionally indulges in "truthiness"; touting the library's huge popularity before data were available, claiming Bill McCarthy and Ted Collins would be pleased with sound barriers along Verona Road (they actually wanted a South Bypass to handle the traffic), and so on

City Hall already generates gobs of propaganda on its behalf. There's a point when extolling the city's virtues goes so overboard that it strikes rational observers as, well, pfluff.

Some expect government to be in the pocket of business interests. However, some haven't yet gotten around to accepting government that's sewn in the underwear of developers, so close that antacids are offered at the slightest rumblings of commercial borborygmus.

(Since Pfaff periodically reminds us that he's just a farm boy, it's fair to point out that his day job is a lobbyist representing Wal-Mart, road builders, pharmaceutical companies and payday lenders. Only in Fitchburg would this be conflated with good governance.)

I'm probably the only one who notices this stuff. There's nothing terribly wrong when City Hall becomes an echo chamber of self-praise. It gets a little weird when the narrative strays several standard deviations from reality, as is painfully evident in the council's definition of collaboration and impartiality.

I'm probably more conservative than anyone on the council. Bloomquist and I stand shoulder-to-shoulder in our opposition to to a $50,000 pilot program that will cart our coffee grounds and soiled cardboard hither and yon for composting, a sterling example of the industrialization of the obvious. Why subsidize those who don't care enough to soil their hands and sully their lawns with compost heaps? What's so hard about composting that we can't do it ourselves?

But conservatism is difficult to digest when it's laced with intolerance and watered-down veracity. Bloomquist was proved dead wrong about the supposed harm inflicted by the SmartCode. Instead of lacerating Arnold, he should apologize. And Pfaff's ability to "collaborate" often smells like garden-variety pandering.

Get over it

Arnold doesn't need me to come to his defense and I'm all for kicking him around occasionally. He does happen to be the only one bringing new ideas to the table, however.

Arnold may have inflicted deep emotional pain on some alders, who should punish him for his transgressions and take other measures to exorcise their angst. Those concerned about such things as global warming and mass transit may also deserve to be reviled.

Fine. But it'd be nice if alders had the courage of their convictions and openly discussed their grievances. They've been in charge for a year now.

It's time they got over it.

We're already waist-deep in putrid hyperbole, vapid bromides and sound-bite bloviation. What's the harm in fostering a local space for open and frank discussions of all sorts of ideas?

If the council doesn't want to hear different viewpoints, just say so. Most residents don't pay much attention to city government anyway. They have even fewer reasons to do so today.