FREE SPEECH DEBATE: NICE VS. CIVIL

posted by Michael Chihak

Say what you will about Bob Walkup, but the man is a nice guy. His niceness and likability probably account most for his election to three straight terms as mayor of Tucson.

But being nice isn't enough to lead a city. His 11 years, 10 months in office vividly demonstrate that fact. That's a digression, for now; it's a topic for a time closer to the end of his tenure, in a month or so.

Our focus today is how Walkup's nice by nature approach to nearly everything puts his footprints on the First Amendment. The Arizona Daily Star's Josh Brodesky characterized it most appropriately in his Sunday column.

Walkup has openly declared war on incivility, making its antonym the byword of his last year in office. Spurred by the Jan. 8 shooting, Walkup has said he won't allow anything he considers uncivil at City Council meetings.

Last week, that meant gaveling out of order one speaker at the council meeting and having him escorted from the Council Chamber. Roy Warden, for whom the term "gadfly" isn't nearly strong enough, was apparently preparing to launch into a tirade on newly appointed interim City Manager Richard Miranda.

That wasn't to Walkup's liking, so out he went, the First Amendment be damned.

The strength of character Hizzoner showed in doing that would have served him well in the last decade if it were focused on downtown redevelopment and city finances overall, or myriad other grinding issues the city faces.