Smackdown

The first thing i noticed as i drove by City Hall looking for a parking space tonight was a group of around 30 or so folks gathered on the sidewalk in front of the revolving doors. By the time i found a space around the corner and walked back the group had grown to nearly 50 people. I chatted with Tamara and Carlos and Roberto, and found that they had all been inspired to come down to tonight's Council session by reports circulating via email regarding Council member (and mayoral candidate) Thomas Stith's robo-calls.

As it turned out, despite Stith's promise "to introduce a resolution that ends the policy that makes Durham a safe haven for illegal immigrants," no such item was on the agenda.

What happened?

Well, Stith maintained that City Manager Patrick Baker, who was not in attendance tonight (Ass't. Manager Wanda Paige filled in) had verbally assured him that the item would be on the agenda.

Then Mayor Bill Bell reminded everyone that the minutes from the most recent Council work session clearly indicated that various city departments would be presenting their reports on the issue at the next work session, and that discussion was continued until then. Stith responded by stating that his reason for revisiting the city's policy on immigrants was to make sure that our policy and our practices were in line. In other words, what the police may be doing during encounters involving people who may have immigration issues may not be the same as the guidelines set forth under the policy passed by Council four years ago, and we may need to revisit those guidelines.

Which was quite the step down from describing Durham as "a city where illegal immigrants commit crimes without fear of being deported."

After this, Eugene Brown thanked the 85 or so people who had by now packed the auditorium section of chambers, many wearing pink stickers that read "Immigrant rights are human rights," for their attendance and participation in civic affairs, even though the item was not going to be discussed.

Then, Cora Cole-McFadden delivered the coup de grace. "I've been out of town for the past few days," she said. "Could someone explain to me why so many of these people thought the immigration issue would be on the agenda tonight?"

Which gave an audience member the opportunity to step up to the microphone and explain that many Durham residents had received a robo-call from a Mayoral candidate urging them to come to Council tonight to support a change in the immigration policy in Durham.

I'm not sure if Stith can get the votes needed to win the election in November. A number of people i speak with seem to believe he has a chance at that. But based on what i saw tonight, i can't imagine that he has what it takes to actually lead this city no matter how many votes he gets. What a sorry-ass performance the past few days from the man who would be mayor.

UPDATE: Almost forgot to mention that the organizers who brought out folks to tonight's session say they'll be back in larger numbers for Thursday afternoon's work session. I'll have more details on that soon.

UPDATE II: Coverage of last night's Council meeting in the Herald Sun, and the N&O. Also a report from BCR.