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Stayed Informed

Attitudes are changing in White Settlement politics. Citizens are more engaged and interested in what is going on? They are showing up at the City Council meetings and getting up and giving a viewpoint or asking a question.

If you are new to the procedures of City Council meetings and would like to ask a question, give a viewpoint or point some changes that you would like to see implemented, here is a 3-step guide.

How to ensure you can speak at a City Council meeting?

Step 1: Prepare what you plan to speak. Mayor Burns has put into place a five minute limit for each citizen to express their point. Write it down, or rehearse what you plan to say before the meeting. Remember to state your opinion not personally attack the City Council members themselves.

Step 2: Arrive about 6:45 and submit “The Meeting Public Comments Form” to City Secretary Amy Arnold. She sits to the far right of the council.

Step 3: Wait until you are recognized by Mayor Burns to proceed to the podium in the middle of the room, and state your name and address. Then proceed with your points.

Here is a link to download your copy of the The Meeting Public Comments Form.

http://wstx.us/whitesettlement/export/departments/city_secretary/citysecretary.html

White Settlement Informed

providing information - empowering your voice

Mission Statement

Goals

Our long term goal is to require government integrity with financial responsibility in every White Settlement city department.

City Council Meetings on Cable

View the last City Council meeting at 7 p.m. on every Monday night on channel 27 cable.

Questions and Answers

Question: Why Is WSInformed not signed with an individual’s name?

WsInformed wants to provide information to the citizens that is fair, balanced and documented. The citizens who write and distribute this information only use factual information and prefer their articles to be judged by the facts and not by the political affiliation of the authors.

Secondly, White Settlement has a history of dirty politics; the authors of WSInformed seek to keep the information surrounding their distribution free of personal smear campaigns. Such smear tactics are designed to discredit individuals and by association, the newsletter.

Question: Is anonymous speech a right?

Yes, anonymous speech is protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Anonymous pamphleteering played an important role for the Founding Fathers. James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay all published anonymously in the Federalist Papers.

The Supreme Court has consistently backed up that tradition. The key U.S. Supreme Court case is McIntyre vs. Ohio Elections Commission.

http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/93-986.ZO.html

The court wrote: “Under our Constitution, anonymous pamphleteering is not a pernicious, fraudulent practice, but an honorable tradition of advocacy and dissent. Anonymity is a shield from the tyranny of the majority.”

Therefore WSInformed has decided to pursue the route of identifying its members as simply “concerned citizens of White Settlement”, to protect itself from the tyranny of dirty politics.