The Political Education of Bryan Freebie

This post is shamelessly stolen from Ashvegas. Click over and give Ash your generous love. If you're not reading Ashvegas every day (or at least every day it's updated), you're missing out on the sharpest, snarkiest local reporting of local reporting on the mountain wide internets.


Ashvegas City Council has been steaming right along since last November's elections.

We've heard a lot out of Councilman Carl Mumpower, who has taken former Councilman Brian Peterson's position as the resident rabblerouser and camera hog. We've heard a lot out of Mayor Terry Bellamy, who's never met a press conference she didn't like.

And now we're starting to hear more out of Councilman Bryan Freeborn, aka Freebie, who is beginning to cement a reputation as a petulant whiner.

Former Mayor Leni Sitnick took Freebie to task in a Citizen-Times letter to the editor a few weeks back for making unpolite remarks. Freebie got heated up again during this week's Ashvegas City Council meeting. Freebie had been working on some committee appointments and got his panties in a wad when other council members disagreed with him. Here's some of what gadfly Walter Plaue had to say about it all in the pages of the Mountain Guardian.

"To which Mr Freeborn became "unglued" and did a reasonably good imitation of Howard Dean's "Scream Speech" and again, leaning in toward the Mayors' face, insisted that he had to have the results of the vote "tomorrow". Showing considerable patience, the Mayor decided it was time for a Recess, to "cool things off". As soon as she banged the gavel for Recess, Mr. Freeborn rushed off the dais, through the exit door behind the dais, and slammed it behind him. A grosser display of petulance and immaturity I have never seen in that Chamber. When the council reconvened, the Mayor, in a calm and controlled voice stated - for everybody to hear - that she could count to four and thus had no choice but to allow the "midnight hour" motion to be made and passed."

You can watch a video clip of the Freebie-Bellamy exchange here. Plaue's description of a "scream" is a bit much in characterizing Freeborn's attitude. But Freeborn clearly was acting like a baby over some stupid committee appointments. Freeborn needs to grow up and learn how to work in a group, a group full of politicians. You're not some freewheeling hippie who can get up a group, paint a city street in protest and have fun, Freebie. You're one of seven people who all have a vote. Learn to deal with it, and deal with dignity.