Hoping for decorum during Calabasas council meetings

The Calabasas City Council has finished a second session with a facilitator who’s trying to teach the councilmembers how to get along. We hope the council has been listening.

Tolerating others, especially those with whom you disagree, isn’t always easy.

It takes a certain amount of ego to seek public office and sometimes the skills that are important in winning an election aren’t particularly helpful when you’re sworn into office.

During a campaign, for example, sticking to your guns and remaining steadfast are seen as strengths. But once you take a seat in public office, you must be willing to compromise at least some of the time. Elected officials, the good ones anyway, must be willing to negotiate. Nobody in public office—not even president of the United States—gets carte blanche.

The councilmembers of Calabasas don’t always agree and that’s good. Officeholders should occasionally disagree—that’s what representative democracy is about—different voices speaking for diverse constituencies.

It’s hard to respect elected officials who pat each other on the back and rubberstamp everything that comes before them. We need to hear voices, not echoes.

Occasional disagreements are inevitable. The trick is to do it with style and grace; people with differences in opinion can express themselves with civility.

We hope the personal attacks and insults can be eliminated once and for all on the Calabasas City Council.

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