Bob Becker wants to change oath
Some people see Knoxville City Councilman Bob Becker as one of the most “progressive” members of City Council. Yet he does things that don’t seem to be very progressive. While many are puzzled on his position to sell the Candy Factory and Victorian houses he now advocates that the oath taken by City Council is too long and he wishes to “trim some of the fat”.
I am so confused about what “progressive” means.
From the Knoxville News Sentinel
By HAYES HICKMAN, hickman@knews.com
January 23, 2006Even the president of the United States swears to less on Inauguration Day, according to Knoxville City Councilman Bob Becker.
Now Becker would like to trim a little fat from the mayor’s and other city officers’ oaths of office.
In fact, he wants to strike nearly the entire second half of the swearing-in script, just short of the “So help me God” ending.
In the section, elected officials, police officers, firefighters and others make a very detailed promise not to have any sort of financial conflict of interest with the city.
“It’s long and I don’t think it’s very helpful,” said Becker, who took the oath himself about two years ago. “There’s a value in brevity.”
January 23rd, 2006 at 1:17 pm
You haven’t actually explained your position at all. You’ve linked to a news story and presented your conclusion that Bob Becker is not very progressive, but there is no trace of the reasoning by which you reached that conclusion.
January 23rd, 2006 at 1:30 pm
You haven’t actually explained your position at all.
Fair enough.
I think it sucks. It is once every four years. How much time does it take to swear to the oath? A minute? Two? Is Becker’s concern over brevity or is it that he doesn’t want to say the words? It is not just Becker, this past on first reading unamimously.
That doesn’t seem progressive to me.
January 23rd, 2006 at 3:21 pm
You’ve expanded your reasoning to ‘It’s not progressive because it sucks and it’s trivial’ and thrown in an innuendo against Becker’s character. Is that the sum of your thought processes?
I do agree that it’s trivial. Becker’s point is there are all sorts of dishonest things a council member could do, accepting bribes being the example included in the article, that are not spelled out in the oath. What’s the point of being explicit about not doing business with the city but not including other potential transgression? He thinks it’s better to just let them all fall under the pledge of honesty.
January 23rd, 2006 at 4:50 pm
Those people that take the oath should not amend the oath to their liking. If they can write their own oath what is the point? It is more than ceremony.
How is any oath for office trivial? There is a reason for this to be in the oath. Not too long ago elected representatives were allowed to be paid consultants.
I wish it were enough to just have them pledge to be honest but that is open to interpretation.
January 23rd, 2006 at 5:02 pm
So are you in favor of expanding the oath to include an exhaustive list of conceivable offenses, or did you just like it the way it was? Do you actually believe it is the oath and not the legal statutes that define what council members can and can not do? Can sitting council members accept bribes since they did not explicitly pledge not to?
January 23rd, 2006 at 5:31 pm
Apparently bribing troopers is kosher, so why not?
January 23rd, 2006 at 5:32 pm
So are you in favor of expanding the oath to include an exhaustive list of conceivable offenses, or did you just like it the way it was?
I do not believe the oath needs to be expanded to an “exhaustive list of conceivable offenses”. I also do not think Council should be amending the oath that they take. I would like to see what the oath is. It would be good to have it listed on the City webpage. I did not feel Council performed the necessary due diligence on the Convention Center or the Market Square project or the WFP project.
I would like to know in detail what their obligations to the public are. To me it would be a progressive move if the obligations of Council members were spelled out and posted. If they really wanted to make a serious statement they would adopt the American Society of Public Administration’s Code of Ethics. I won’t hold my breath for that to happen.
Ethics reform is a huge issue in Nashville but does the average citizen have any idea what the obligations of a City Council member are? Maybe they should list those obligations.
January 23rd, 2006 at 9:00 pm
I would like to see what the oath is.
City Code, Section 2-4. Oaths of Office. It wasn’t hard to find through the city website, and the minutes of the last council meeting specified where in the code the oaths are.
If all you can manage is regurgitating news copy along with a barely formed opinion, is it really necessary to splatter your output all over every local forum within reach? Don’t you think you should at least do the simple legwork of looking for the oath before you wow us all with your ability to cut and paste?
January 23rd, 2006 at 9:12 pm
It wasn’t hard to find through the city website, and the minutes of the last council meeting specified where in the code the oaths are.
As I wrote I want to see what the oath is. Let’s find out what is so objectionable.
I did not find it on the City website. Your point is?
All I found was this:
ORDINANCES ON FIRST READING
RE: CITY CODE AMENDMENT – OATH OF OFFICE FOR THE MAYOR AND
OTHER CITY OFFICERS
An Ordinance to amend Section 2-4 of the Knoxville City Code so as to amend the form
of the oath of office for the Mayor and other city officers, (Requested by Councilmember
Becker), was presented to Council for consideration.
Councilmember Hultquist addressed the ordinance.
Councilmember Becker made a motion to approve the ordinance on first reading.
Councilmember Roddy seconded the motion. By unanimous voice vote the motion carried.
The ordinance was approved on first reading.
January 24th, 2006 at 12:31 am
Sorry, the words “City Code” were supposed to be a link to the City Code. Apparently the URL tags didn’t take. http://www.cityofknoxville.org/departments/lawdept.asp Then click on “City Code of Ordinances” So sorry you couldn’t find it on your own!
January 24th, 2006 at 1:16 am
Thanks for the help. Your right, I would not have found that.
January 24th, 2006 at 10:50 am
persimmon, is this the oath the City Council members take? I could not find one specifically for City Council. The one below is for the Mayor and City officials.
http://municode.com/resources/gateway.asp?pid=11098&sid=42
I, ________________, do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of the State of Tennessee, and the Charter and Ordinances of the City of Knoxville; that I possess all of the qualifications required by the Charter and Ordinances of the City or by general law for the office or position that I am about to assume; that I will discharge my duties as ________________ faithfully, honestly and impartially. I further swear that I do not have any contracts with the C ity; that I do not have any financial interest in any business or entity having contracts with the City; that I do not have a financial interest in any public service corporation engaged in business in the City; and that I will not enter into such contracts or obtain such an interest while I serve in this office or position, so help me God.
________________
Subscribed and affirmed or sworn to before me this ________ day of _________, 20________.
January 24th, 2006 at 12:03 pm
That’s the one.