Northeastern ‘outsider’ attacked Crestview

I, as current president of the Crestview City Council, feel that I must respond with my thoughts on the presentation delivered before our City Council meeting on Feb. 27, 2017 by a Mr. Larry Harris, a representative from the Mason-Dixon Polling Company.

And myself, as officiating president, had to force myself to sit silent and allow Mr. Harris, a resident from some northeastern state, attack the people of my city, simply because he doesn't like or appreciate our form of government here in Crestview.

What was really hard to accept was not being able to review Mr. Harris' presentation prior to the meeting time of Feb. 27, 2017. I have never had a doubt that yes, possibly, we need some serious changes to our current form of government to meet the requirements, present and future.

At the beginning of Mr. Harris' proposal, I sensed the council body immediately realized that we did not have sufficient information to base or render any action on his proposal at this moment.

To have an outsider come before a public meeting of our City Council, and assault our city and my fellow team of elected and appointed leaders, alluding to just how much ignorance is in our leadership team — and its daily operational task that has been in force for now 100 years, (which) proves to me our system yet has merits.

I, speak(ing) for myself personally on this issue, will never allow the people that I honorably represent, approaching 25,000-plus, to be pressured into accepting this so-called proposal for change of our government without allowing the citizens of Crestview to have their say in this issue.

Let the people make the decision whether they desire to totally change our form of government.

If it is the wishes of the majority of our residents of Crestview to change our current form of government, I'll gladly abide by their decision.

Again, I take offense to the offensive approach on our city, and its leaders, that we heard from this representative from Mason-Dixon Polling Company.

Joe Blocker is the Crestview City Council’s president. 

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Northeastern ‘outsider’ attacked Crestview