August 31, 2017

Citizens:

As you know the City has been swirling in controversy since Monday when two City Councilmen savaged a fellow City Council member over an innocent mistake.  There was little/no negative impact to the City from the missed qualifying deadline.  Rather, the negative press and associated embarrassment came from Mr. Kunz’s temper tantrum followed by his and Lusk’s unrelenting attacks on a colleague in the subsequent Council meeting.  This was not a “coaching moment” as Mr. Kunz originally asserted.  (Note:  he is now changing his story . . . read below.)  It was more like kicking a injured player while he is down.  Remember that Council Member Longoria was recused from the discussion and therefore could not defend himself.  And notice that there is a time when Longoria is tempted to respond (one can only take so much abuse) and Kunz warns him that he is not allowed to speak . . . another kick to the groin.

When finally allowed to speak, Longoria took the high road and merely apologized for the inconvenience he had caused the City.  That is called “manning up” . . . something Kunz is clueless about.

Of course, Kunz is now changing his story.  He no longer asserts that this was just a “coaching moment” or that his “passion” just got the better from him.  Now, he has completely changed his story.  He now asserts at his Matt Kunz Gov Facebook page:

“The fact is, and his own picture proves this, that the other Councilman left his chair and came to mine. That’s why we stood by my seat. I did not go to him. He came to me. I stood my ground. I will not make any judgments to the other Councilman’s intent.”

So you see Kunz is now implying that Longoria was the aggressor and that Kunz was merely defending himself.  That is quite a change to Kunz’s story.  I suppose the coaching moment/passion version of events was not cutting muster with citizens, so Kunz is now making himself out to be the victim.  I am very curious to see how imaginative Kunz’s third and subsequent versions of the confrontation might be.  A body double version might be interesting or maybe a version that includes divine intervention.  Perhaps readers of this blog might suggest plot twists for Mr. Kunz.

The problem for Kunz is that quite a few people witnessed the confrontation at various points in time.  My sense is that witness accounts would not corroborate Mr. Kunz’s story.  I only caught the worst of it, which was the last minute when Kunz was yelling at the top of his lungs and flailing about.  My sense is that the City needs to address this issue.  This includes interviews of the two participants and all witnesses to the event.  Based on an analysis of the events, the City should take appropriate corrective action.  The City needs to reassure citizens, particularly our youth, that it does not sanction such misbehavior.

Citizens, nearly 22 months have passed since citizens came together (in the CSO debate) to push for smart land use and good governance.  It was a David-and-Goliath struggle, pitting citizens against Special Interests and their agents on Council.  Through hard work and organization, citizens prevailed.  The truth was on our side; the CSO was defeated.  Then came the battle over Ebenezer.  Again, there was a long and protracted battle.  And again, citizens prevailed.  The truth of Ebenezer is now being borne out by the facts on the ground—i.e., the property is being developed at a far lower density than the defeated rezoning would have allowed.  Since Ebenezer, we have gradually advanced the cause of citizens to the point where citizens are in an advantaged position.  We are now witnessing the desperate acts of politicians who have fallen out of favor with citizens.  Citizens, we need to be careful not to be baited or otherwise dragged into the mud.  Mr. Kunz is his own worst enemy.  He is only hurting himself with his excuses, denials, and changing stories.  I am looking forward to Kunz’s Hail Mary Pass.  Citizens will be standing ten feet tall in the end zone.

Tim Becker

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August 30, 2017

Author:  Tim Becker

Citizens:

Following is a link to a WSB story on Council Member Matt Kunz’s meltdown at Monday’s City Council meeting.

WSB News: Council Member Kunz Temper Tantrum

I witnessed Kunz lose his temper on Monday.  As a consultant, I have worked for many dozens of companies.  I have seen several people lose their temper, mostly behind closed doors and not so up-close-and-personal.  However, I have never seen an outburst in the workplace like I witnessed on Monday.  I have never seen a person in the workplace publicly get in someone’s face like that.  I have never seen an incident so extreme that security was called.  And I honestly believe that what I saw on Monday would be a fire-able offense at many/most companies.  There was a time when such behavior–and other testosterone-fueled behaviors–were tolerated in the workplace; those days have long passed, except perhaps in Milton’s city government.

After a lot of time to think about it, the best excuse that Mr. Kunz could come up with is that he was applying a coaching technique.  He condescendingly asserts that he was helping Joe Longoria to become a better “player.”  By Mr. Kunz’s reckoning, he was just performing a good deed for his fellow man.  He was misunderstood.  And I suppose Joe Longoria and the rest of us are just a bunch of ingrates.  Is it Kunz’s intention to similarly “coach” his constituents to make them “better” citizens?

It is amazing that Kunz would be unapologetic and use the tired excuse that his extreme temper tantrum was just “locker room” behavior.  How many times have we, especially women, heard that before?  Boys will be boys, huh?

Kunz chalks it all up to passion.  However, I can tell you that what I witnessed was not passion.  It was clear for all to see that Kunz was out of control.  Staff were clearly concerned . . . so much so that the police were summoned.

Most importantly, let’s not forget who establishes the tone and culture of our city government:  our elected leaders.  They should be held to a (much) higher standard.  I have now been witness to no less than six extended outbursts from Council members in Council meetings.  And unfortunately, the bad behavior of some Council members has percolated to their appointees on committees.  In one incident (video to be released later), a committee chairman (with a history of bad behavior) had to be gently removed from a confrontation with the mayor by the City Manager, while police converged on the scene.  And with that incident, the City once again looked away.

So it is fair to ask some questions to the city and ourselves?  Does Kunz’s meltdown really reflect our aspirations for the City?  Does it improve the culture of our City government (as Mr. Kunz ridiculously asserts)?  Is it more or less likely that citizens and staff will engage our Council (most notably Mr. Kunz) knowing that we might be “coached” in such a manner?  You get the point.  Kunz set a real poor example.  Mr. Kunz showed singularly poor leadership, no matter how you cut it.  And he continues to show poor leadership by making up a bunch of lame excuses for his behavior.  (Yes, I think it is fair to say that Mr. Lou Holtz would be more than disappointed in Kunz.)  I suppose it will be left to citizens to drag our City out of the gutter, where Mr. Kunz (and Mr. Lusk) have left it.

Advocating for Citizens,

Tim Becker

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The blog really went viral yesterday.  Tons of hits.  The posted videos have been watched many hundreds of times.  Thank you for your ongoing support.  To achieve better governance, the City needs your continued engagement.  Our hopes for improved governance lie with you, the citizens.  — TB