Elbert Huckaby doesn't much like me.
Instead of ripping into some hapless public official, as he tried to do during last month's City Council meeting, the former mayoral candidate turned on me instead.
That's OK, really, because I'm tougher than any city councilor.
Huckaby this evening took the podium in part to denounce me as "liberal and biased" and condemned me for supposedly writing a dishonest account of his appearance at the November council meeting.
Odd that nobody else saw any particular bias in my account, given that scores of people were at the session and hundreds of others watched it on Nutmeg TV.
Huckaby said he's not going to talk to me anymore.
I can't say that I'm sad about that, but I will promise to keep speaking to him as necessary in order to keep the public informed. He may not answer, but, as he pointed out, he has free speech, too.
And that includes the right not to talk to me.
God knows I can live with silence from Huckaby.
*******
Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Showing posts with label Huckaby. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Huckaby. Show all posts
December 11, 2007
November 15, 2007
Ward vows to end theatrics at City Council meetings
During the past year, residents speaking at City Council meetings have thrown in white towels in a gesture of surrender, handed out failing grades to mayors and cursed officials who didn’t listen to their catcalls from the audience.
Just this week, a former Republican mayoral candidate, Elbert Huckaby, used the public participation portion of a council session to declare that America is a Christian nation, repudiate the Clintons, denounce gays and call city Councilor Craig Minor a whiny know-it-all who’s not standing up for Christ.
That Minor is Jewish was not lost on Huckaby.
Mayor Art Ward immediately told Huckaby that he would not put up with such disrespectful talk at council sessions.Ward said there have been “some problems” with public participation in recent months and that the circus atmosphere is over.
The newly elected mayor said that “we shall have no room for that type of activity” anymore – and those who won’t treat the city’s leaders with respect will get hauled out of the meeting by the police.
Ward said that residents are free to come and express ideas that support what his administration is doing or oppose it. But whichever side they take, he said, they have to speak with the dignity the forum requires.
“Totally and emphatically, I am going to insist that it be done with respect,” Ward said.
Even after Ward threatened Huckaby, who lost a 1997 mayoral race by a wide margin, the Republican said he was merely exercising his First Amendment rights and insisted he had said nothing offensive.
He said Minor should not have opposed a city church’s request last year – and again this year – to put a creche at City Hall.After that, he made some kind of vague threat to Minor.
"You got a free pass this time," Huckaby told the councilor before sitting down, perhaps a reference to the GOP’s failure to field two candidates in Minor’s 3rd District.
Minor said Wednesday he was reluctant to talk about Huckaby’s tirade.
“It’s impossible to have a calm discussion over the issue of church and state with someone like him,” he said.
This isn’t the first time Huckaby has made waves with public pronouncements at council meetings.
In 1999, another Republican mayoral hopeful, Mike Werner, denounced Huckaby for making anti-Semitic slurs against the city’s economic development director and making personal attacks on both Republican and Democratic politicians in town. That year, Huckaby even questioned the sexuality of one of his own party’s candidates.
Huckaby got creamed in his 1997 mayoral race, a 1998 state House contest and a 1999 GOP mayoral primary. He has not run for office since then.
*******
Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Just this week, a former Republican mayoral candidate, Elbert Huckaby, used the public participation portion of a council session to declare that America is a Christian nation, repudiate the Clintons, denounce gays and call city Councilor Craig Minor a whiny know-it-all who’s not standing up for Christ.
That Minor is Jewish was not lost on Huckaby.
Mayor Art Ward immediately told Huckaby that he would not put up with such disrespectful talk at council sessions.Ward said there have been “some problems” with public participation in recent months and that the circus atmosphere is over.
The newly elected mayor said that “we shall have no room for that type of activity” anymore – and those who won’t treat the city’s leaders with respect will get hauled out of the meeting by the police.
Ward said that residents are free to come and express ideas that support what his administration is doing or oppose it. But whichever side they take, he said, they have to speak with the dignity the forum requires.
“Totally and emphatically, I am going to insist that it be done with respect,” Ward said.
Even after Ward threatened Huckaby, who lost a 1997 mayoral race by a wide margin, the Republican said he was merely exercising his First Amendment rights and insisted he had said nothing offensive.
He said Minor should not have opposed a city church’s request last year – and again this year – to put a creche at City Hall.After that, he made some kind of vague threat to Minor.
"You got a free pass this time," Huckaby told the councilor before sitting down, perhaps a reference to the GOP’s failure to field two candidates in Minor’s 3rd District.
Minor said Wednesday he was reluctant to talk about Huckaby’s tirade.
“It’s impossible to have a calm discussion over the issue of church and state with someone like him,” he said.
This isn’t the first time Huckaby has made waves with public pronouncements at council meetings.
In 1999, another Republican mayoral hopeful, Mike Werner, denounced Huckaby for making anti-Semitic slurs against the city’s economic development director and making personal attacks on both Republican and Democratic politicians in town. That year, Huckaby even questioned the sexuality of one of his own party’s candidates.
Huckaby got creamed in his 1997 mayoral race, a 1998 state House contest and a 1999 GOP mayoral primary. He has not run for office since then.
*******
Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
November 14, 2007
Huckaby makes an odd return to City Hall
A decade ago, the Republicans nominated Elbert Huckaby as their mayoral candidate. He went on to suffer one of the biggest political defeats in city history.
Since then, he's rarely been seen in political circles.
But last night, he showed at the City Council meeting to declare that America is a Christian nation, that he repudiates the Clintons, and that he doesn't have any use for gay people.
Then he ripped into city Councilor Craig Minor, calling him a whiny know-it-all and tossing in a few other choice words that I didn't quite process in the shock of the moment.
Mayor Art Ward immediately told Huckaby that he would not put up with such disrespectful talk at council sessions.
Huckaby declared he was merely exercising his First Amendment rights and insisted he had said nothing offensive.
He proceeded to say something about how Minor and his people have lowered the standards of our country, though I couldn't quite figure out how. Minor, by the way, is Jewish.
Huckaby finished up with some sort of vague threat to Minor.
"You got a free pass this time," Huckaby told the councilor. What that meant, I don't know.
Perhaps Huckaby is contemplating a council race in 2009 aimed at unseating Minor.
*******
Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Since then, he's rarely been seen in political circles.
But last night, he showed at the City Council meeting to declare that America is a Christian nation, that he repudiates the Clintons, and that he doesn't have any use for gay people.
Then he ripped into city Councilor Craig Minor, calling him a whiny know-it-all and tossing in a few other choice words that I didn't quite process in the shock of the moment.
Mayor Art Ward immediately told Huckaby that he would not put up with such disrespectful talk at council sessions.
Huckaby declared he was merely exercising his First Amendment rights and insisted he had said nothing offensive.
He proceeded to say something about how Minor and his people have lowered the standards of our country, though I couldn't quite figure out how. Minor, by the way, is Jewish.
Huckaby finished up with some sort of vague threat to Minor.
"You got a free pass this time," Huckaby told the councilor. What that meant, I don't know.
Perhaps Huckaby is contemplating a council race in 2009 aimed at unseating Minor.
*******
Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
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