Mayor Paul TenHaken is a man of incredible good humor.
I’ve had the opportunity to visit with him on and off the air many times. He’s always bright, upbeat and friendly to a fault.
You may know that TenHaken has a very strong faith background. His religious beliefs are deeply important to him and he conducts himself very accordingly.
The mayor joined me on the air yesterday morning with an update to the storm.
TenHaken arrived at our studios looking great. He was well dressed, bright and energetic and fully rested following the hellish week he and the city had just endured.
He and I discussed the challenges of the past week. The mayor, as is typical of him, commended his team and the incredible response of many who helped their neighbors.
I asked TenHaken about Councilor Theresa Stehly’s resolution that would authorize the city to pay for all the clean-up, as well as damages on private property.
The mayor became quite serious, an affable smile disappearing from his face.
“I had six councilors, of our city council, reach out to me during the course of this disaster,” TenHaken said.
“I have two that I haven’t ever even spoken with since these tornadoes hit, despite my efforts to reach out to them. I’m going to let you decide who those are.”
You don’t have to be a mentalist to know to whom TenHaken was referring.
TenHaken continued, speaking directly to Stehly’s resolution.
“Grand-standing like this, from Councilors Starr and Stehly tonight…it’s theater. It’s very unfortunate that they’re taking an event like this in the city and trying to politicize it. Especially when I feel we’ve had a homerun response,” TenHaken said.
“I don’t intend to speak to it (the resolution) at all. I thought about passing the gavel and speaking to it. I’m just going to move on. It’s just chirping. It’s just noise and we’ve got bigger fish to fry in the city so onward we’ll go,” the mayor said.
I watched last night's meeting, curious to see what might happen.
TenHaken last night did exactly as he told me he would.
Councilor Stehly brought up her resolution. It was the final item on the agenda and nearly three hours into the meeting.
Stehly shared the resolution and made her case. She also read a number of emails and comments she had received from citizens seeking help.
Stehly had an additional amendment that she planned to attach to the resolution, thanking Mayor TenHaken and city officials for their hard work during the storm.
The mayor turned to the audience for public input. Several residents came up and shared their thoughts.
At that point, TenHaken prompted Stehly to make a motion to pass the resolution, which she did.
The mayor asked for a second.
SILENCE.
TenHaken looked around the council table.
More silence.
A motion with no second dies on the vine. There wasn't any further discussion.
The meeting was over.
Can someone check on Councilor Starr and see if he’s lost his voice? He left Stehly twisting in the wind without a word.
Mayor TenHaken this week showed that he’s made of sterner stuff than some may have thought.
This past week has tested the mayor and his leadership in one of the worst ways we could have imagined.
TenHaken passed with flying colors.
