Lafayette County Board of Supervisors: Video Proof of a Bad Decision
The video below is an excerpt of the August 4th, 2008, Lafayette County Board of Supervisors' meeting during which three members of the board voted to keep the Lafayette County Circuit Court from returning to the historic courthouse on the Square. For background, I have posted extensively on that decision here and here. The video lasts about 27 minutes, and is well worth the time. The supervisors are seated from left to right as follows: Robert Blackmon, Mike Pickens, Lloyd Oliphant, Ray Sockwell, Jr. and Johnny Morgan. Appearing frequently on the far right is County Attorney David O'Donnell.
As you watch, you will see Blackmon and Pickens vehemently oppose what is clearly a poorly planned and political decision by Oliphant, Sockwell and Morgan. In fact, Pickens speaks out on this point in the second half of the video (16:40) and asks that the Board postpone the decision to seek input from the community. Clearly community input is not important to Oliphant, Sockwell and Morgan (notwithstanding the fact that their positions are elected ones) because you will see that they proceed to force the decision forward despite the protests of Blackmon and Pickens.
Be warned, this video may cause you to become exceedingly angry with Oliphant, Sockwell and Morgan. Two points of special interest: (1) near the end of the clip the confusion over the various motions and amendments becomes quite comical; and (2) the highlight is when Planning Commissioner T.J. Ray challenges the Board's "stupid" action and questions when they might be inclined to listen to their constituents (15:50). I'd be interested to see your thoughts in the comments.
As you watch, you will see Blackmon and Pickens vehemently oppose what is clearly a poorly planned and political decision by Oliphant, Sockwell and Morgan. In fact, Pickens speaks out on this point in the second half of the video (16:40) and asks that the Board postpone the decision to seek input from the community. Clearly community input is not important to Oliphant, Sockwell and Morgan (notwithstanding the fact that their positions are elected ones) because you will see that they proceed to force the decision forward despite the protests of Blackmon and Pickens.
Be warned, this video may cause you to become exceedingly angry with Oliphant, Sockwell and Morgan. Two points of special interest: (1) near the end of the clip the confusion over the various motions and amendments becomes quite comical; and (2) the highlight is when Planning Commissioner T.J. Ray challenges the Board's "stupid" action and questions when they might be inclined to listen to their constituents (15:50). I'd be interested to see your thoughts in the comments.
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12 August 2008, 11:26 AM
Mississippi Criminal Defense Law Blog wrote:
Breaking News: In the ongoing saga regarding the relocation of the Lafayette County Circuit Court, there is a big development today. Supervisor Lloyd Oliphant forwarded /files/8/4/0/9/1/127509-119048/Oliphant.pdf">this letter to the bar expressing his intent to change his vote and allow the Circuit Court to return to the historic courthouse on the Square. Unfortunatly, Mr. Oliphant couldn't bring himself to simply say "I'm sorry, this was clearly a poor decision. I'm happy to change my vote and make this right." Instead, he takes swipes at the Lafayette County Bar and "various persons" (think he's talking about me?) for ...
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