THE BIGGEST PERK any public official can have is power. And in Marana most of it has been given to Mayor Ora Harn.
Most elected bodies have an agenda committee which decides what gets discussed. Usually that committee consists of several members of the elected body and, as with the Pima County Board of Supervisors, often a single member may add an item at his or her request.
Not so in Marana. Out there, the potted plants that make up the rest of Harn's council just created an agenda committee consisting of the mayor and a group of assorted bureaucrats.
In other words, Harn is the only council member who can decide what gets discussed.
Ain't that democratic? And while they were at it, they decided to reduce from five minutes to three the time a citizen has to speak to his elected representatives at a regular town meeting.
Amazing--there's a recall going on right now in Marana over the lack of public input that's led to bringing an unpopular jail into town as well as a massive, unwanted rezoning. And how do the Marana bozos respond? By reducing the potential for citizen input and restricting who can put items on the agenda of a council meeting.
They bring new meaning to the concept of "denial."
--Emil Franzi
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