|
I wonder why Barbara Carter thinks someone may want to kill the Tempe City Council members. Hell we love them all. We love it when they steal our money. Tempe has the highest tax rate in Arizona. And we love it when they micromanage our lives. Like when they told that bar owner he could not open a bar called "Drunkenstien" and when they refuse to let topless bars opperate in the city of Tempe. We love our Tempe City Council members!
In wake of Mo. shooting, council member mulls safety
Dianna M. Náñez
As one Tempe councilwoman reflected on safety at council meetings, a Missouri man halfway across the country had ambushed a St. Louis suburb's council meeting, killing five people and wounding two others before police shot and killed the gunman.
Among Charles Lee "Cookie" Thornton's victims on Feb. 7 was Kirkwood Councilman Michael Lynch, a colleague and friend of Tempe Councilwoman Barb Carter. Carter and Lynch had served together on a National League of Cities committee for the past five years.
Thornton also killed Officer William Biggs Jr., who was standing guard outside City Hall. He then gunned down Officer Tom Ballman, Lynch, Councilwoman Connie Karr and Public Works Director Ken Yost.
Kirkwood Mayor Mike Swoboda was shot and remains in critical condition.
Reporter Todd Smith was also shot and has been released from the hospital.
Carter said she last saw Lynch, a father of two and a retired Army officer, two months ago. Now, she is among the nation's elected officials re-evaluating how their cities balance public access and public safety.
The City Council murders in Missouri likely hit closer to home for the Tempe City Council than many others.
That same week, the Tempe council had learned that the FBI had arrested Kurt Havelock on suspicion of planning a Super Bowl massacre in retaliation for the Tempe council recommending in October that he be denied a liquor license.
In an interview hours before Carter would learn of Lynch's death, she discussed the arrest with The Arizona Republic, saying the council received threats in the past and that she'd been advised the dais the council sits behind is bulletproof.
But in what she now calls a haunting choice of words, she said that in an emergency people rarely have enough time to react.
"I'm not faster than a bullet," she had said.
Carter said it is scary for her to think that just as easily as Thornton did in Missouri, somebody could storm Tempe's council chambers.
"I've often told people we're (council members) the closest elected officials to the public," she said. "People come right in and talk to us. You wouldn't do that with a congressman or a senator."
The two-term councilwoman said she enjoys the closeness she has with constituents but wonders whether, for the public's safety, it may be time to increase security at council meetings nationwide.
"You just never know when someone is going to do this kind of thing," she said.
National League of Cities Executive Director Don Borut said he is receiving calls from councils nationwide that are concerned for Kirkwood victims and worried about security measures.
Borut said the League does not have minimum safety guidelines for meetings.
However, he said most municipalities have at least one police officer at meetings, and larger cities have metal detectors.
Many cities, he said, are considering taking temporary precautions to ease fears. He said he has advised leaders not to rush to judgment.
The Kirkwood council, he said, had that very discussion before the shooting and chose not to ban Thornton from council meetings.
"Those in public office recognize the importance of being accessible to their constituents," he said. "The challenge is balance. You need public safety and you want protection, but at the same time you don't want to prevent the opportunity for residents to engage."
Mike Horn, a Tempe Police Department spokesman, said there is always at least one uniformed officer at Tempe council meetings. And officers who regularly attend meetings for administrative purposes are armed, he said.
Safety at these meetings, Horn said, is something police "constantly evaluate."
"From time to time . . . if we have some intelligence regarding a specific volatile issue, we'll adjust security," he said.
Carter said the world has become more violent and increased safety measures are becoming a necessity.
"There are people who feel disenfranchised by government in general, and you just never know," she said. "It's not just safety for the seven people behind the dais. It's about safety for every person in the chambers."
She said she would now support adding a metal detector outside of Tempe council chambers.
Republic reporters Mike Walbert and Erin Kozak contributed to this article.
|