Quiet, Please
Post-Cannon arrest, clowning at council meeting (and not by council)
Charlotte badly needed some reassurance last night after the arrest and resignation of Mayor Patrick Cannon. The City Council had called a special meeting, possibly to choose a new mayor to fill Cannon’s term. Councilman Al Austin led the invocation and asked the audience to hold hands—and they did, even reporters.
Council members adopted an air of somber professionalism during the 15-minute gathering. Mayor Pro Tem Michael Barnes, who was running things, spoke in measured tones about the process of selecting a new mayor (the council decided to push off the vote until April 7). At-Large Councilwoman Vi Lyles took her turn from the dais, speaking quietly of the need to move beyond this ugly event and restore the public trust.
And then she stopped. Someone was talking over her.
Steve Crump was up in the corner of the council chambers, talking to a camera.
Crump’s been working for WBTV for years, certainly long enough to know he shouldn’t be recording video or doing a live shot from the council chambers during the meeting. But there he was, having a genuine Perd Hapley moment.
Heads turned, including City Manager Ron Carlee’s. Barnes interrupted: “Mr. Carlee, are you going to do something about that?” A security officer was already on her way up the stairs. “Steve,” she said. Crump quieted down, finished his shot and left the chambers. Nice. Glad the City Council could serve as his backdrop. All good TV personalities need them.
The meeting featured another outbreak of clownishness: a small group of placard holders there to push a special election that presumably would give Edwin Peacock III, who lost to Cannon in November, another bite at the dangling fruit.
State law is pretty clear on this—the removed mayor’s party picks his/her replacement, 160A-63 if you want to scroll down—but there was buzz to be created, and it was. “We don’t trust you!” a woman yelled at the council as the meeting concluded. Barnes somehow managed to refrain from responding, “Mutual.”
In all, it was a satisfactory Charlotte City Council experience. Nothing got done, but it was short and entertaining, the opposite of the usual Charlotte City Council experience.
And we all got a welcome reminder that, as bad as public officials can get, as much collateral disgrace as they can shed on their ways down, let’s be honest: The media and public kind of suck, too. Let’s all keep that in mind as this city, our city, moves forward from this unfortunate event.
