Royal Palm Beach Village Council meetings under the auspices of the current mayor [Matty Mattioli] has taken a turn for the worse, and any pretense at customary civility has been abandoned.
Apparently, any opposition to the mayor’s rules for appointees or his method of “running” a council meeting is met with an uncivil sharp rebuke. Though the mayor of late has only been guilty occasionally of losing focus and “drifting” when searching for his point, the mayor has now become somewhat acerbic, if not dictatorial.
What could have been handled easily, using any of the current rules of decorum, i.e., Robert’s Rules of Order, has been replaced by sharp, uncivilized language in addressing Councilwoman Martha Webster. The mayor not only rebuked Councilwoman Webster but uncivilly told her to “shut up,” using the remark again when referring to Councilwoman Webster’s proposed appointees.
Just calling for an early vote would have put the matter to rest instead of unnecessarily humiliating a member of the council with a very uncivil address, unworthy and unfair to Councilwoman Webster. What’s next, Mr. Mayor? Expletives? A simpler answer may be that at 84, the pressures are increasingly harder for the mayor, and “crankiness” may be the new order of the day. I believe that the mayor owes Councilwoman Webster and members of council an apology publicly because his rudeness and incivility was delivered publicly. It takes a man of character to be mayor of Royal Palm Beach and recognize his mistakes and shortcomings. Admitting them would be a step in that direction.
Richard Nielsen, Royal Palm Beach
