George Jones Got It Right
“Oh, no one knows what goes on behind closed doors.” sang “No Show” George Jones. He was singing about his love, but he could have been singing about our local governments.
Members of the York County Council slipped off to meet behind closed doors with state health regulators. The regulators then decided to give the permit to build a new hospital to Tenet Healthcare, operator of Piedmont Hospital. Tenet is one of our nation’s most ethically challenged corporate cultures. If it were not for another member of the County Council spilling the beans, the voters may never have known that our elected officials were sneaking around pushing a private agenda.
What did these elected officials say, do or promise behind closed doors? None of us will ever be certain, unless there was Nixon Whitehouse style taping going on. Literally thousands of letters, and hundreds of citizens turned out at public meetings to call for competition in healthcare in York County. The regulator ignored all those voices and went with the corporation our “leaders” were pushing…behind closed doors.
Of course, this is far from the only example. Our elected officials slip behind closed doors to conduct our business where we can’t see what’s going on regularly. Like Houdini, our elected officials direct our attention to one hand while the other hand slips something by us, right under our noses. Whether it’s giving lucrative contracts to a girlfriend’s former employer or going into “executive session” whenever there is the slightest opportunity, our local elected officials seem to be saying “You can’t handle the truth.” While that makes a great movie line, it’s hardly acceptable practice in an system that is supposed to be open and free of hidden agendas.
In a recent column in The Herald former county council member Jeff Updike wrote “I don’t particularly like executive sessions, but they are necessary to attract industry, take care of personnel problems, and seek legal counsel.” This is a bald faced lie, and every elected official in the county knows it’s a lie. Nothing in state law requires that elected officials hide behind closed doors to do these things. The law permits hiding behind closed doors when discussing personnel and other issues. Elected officials who respect the voters will hold every meeting possible in full view of the people. Instead, our elected officials have treated the citizens like children who must be protected from inconvenient truths.
It reminds me of the old habit of hiding illness from those who were on their death beds, as if they wouldn’t notice that they were dying. At one time it was assumed that it was best for dying patients to be kept in the dark about their condition. Today the dying are told the truth. If those only months away from their reward can handle that truth, surely the people of York County can handle the truth about how our government is run.
Mr. Updike and others have felt the unhappiness of the voters right where it hurts, in the ballot box. Members of the county council who hide their actions behind closed doors don’t deserve our support or votes. Two years from now, perhaps we will have competition in all the county council races. Every incumbent who has faced opposition this year has lost. You have to wonder if the voters of York County are not ready for real change. If they are ready…if you are ready…the York County Greens are ready to help you take government from behind closed doors and put it in the sunshine, where every citizen knows what’s going on, and why. We deserve no less.