At the State of the City Breakfast, Santa Barbara Mayor Helene Schneider said she, along with other mayors from around the country, signed the below civility accord and pledged her commitment to the following principles:
- Respect the right of all Americans to hold different opinions.
- Avoid rhetoric intended to humiliate, de-legitimatize or question the patriotism of those whose opinions are different from ours.
- Strive to understand differing perspectives.
- Choose words carefully.
- Speak truthfully without accusation, and avoid distortion.
- Speak out against violence, prejudice and incivility in all of their forms, whenever and wherever they occur.
I’d love to see a taxpayer’s accord.
Respect the money you are spending as if it was yours
Avoid questioning the compassion and character of those who oppose your spending programs
Strive to understand the unintended consequences of your meddling
Choose budget items carefully
Speak truthfully about your motivations and avoid hiding your wasteful spending
Speak out against waste, bloat in all their forms, whenever and wherever they occur.
I wonder if this pledge is retroactive to when she first became mayor, or a new revelation. Isn’t this kind of civil behavior assumed in an elected official, paticularly at the local level, or am I just hopelessly naive?