Troubled by Oakley City Council

Editor: It is with regret that I pen this letter. However, I cannot remain silent in the face of the recent machinations of the Oakley City Council, specifically Mayor Randy Pope and Councilman Aaron Meadows. Up for consideration at the Tuesday, Sept. 13 meeting, was an “urgency ordinance” that would have prohibited drilling for oil and gas in Oakley. The “urgency” is where the trouble arises.

Unlike a regular vote, anything posited as an “urgency ordinance” requires a 4/5 majority vote, and not a simple majority as with any other proposed regulation. Since it seems that the two named members are pro-development (at any cost), and have not exhibited concern for the environment, they deliberately set this “urgency” in motion for the express purpose of defeating it!

Councilwoman Sue Higgins was absent, and, therefore, a unanimous 4-0 vote was required. The conniving pair knew full well this was an impossible obstacle to overcome in the circumstances, as they were planning all along to vote “no.”