The Veto Bandito

Tontitown Mayor Joe Edgmon has removed all doubt; he is a dick. Just over a year ago, the City Council voted a Resolution of "No Confidence" in Edgmon, which might have been overlooked as a passing moment of disagreement, but his inability to work with the elected Aldermen was a major topic of concern in this year's Council elections. Edgmon is so erratic that he tried to have an alderman arrested for trying to have a conversation with him.

Mayor Edgmon celebrated the Fourth of July this year with a double veto party. One was to nullify a contract he had previously signed, because Tommy Deweese was upset about water charges to SWEPCO. The other was a flip-flop he was performing about whether to refer an ordinance for a vote.

His latest boneheaded move was to veto two ordinances unanimously passed by the City Council to assure the city's compliance with the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act. Mayor Edgmon has a habit of not coming to his office very often, and the city officials are unable to retreive documents to meet the 72-hour deadline for compliance. They passed an ordinance requiring the office to be unlocked during normal business hours, which Edgmon vetoed.

Mayor Edgmon also makes off with the city lap-top loaded with public documents. The City Council passed an ordinance requiring Edgmon to make his city-issued laptop available during normal city business hours, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., so they could retrieve official documents when needed for city business or to respond to citizen FOIA requests. He vetoed that one, too.

Some Alderman and lots of citizens are upset and have been critical of Mayor Edgmon's management practices. I am sure he thinks all those complainers and detractors are just extremists and Edgmon-haters. If so, it is only because his arrogant behavior has made them such.