Mayor Steve Adler carried to Thursday’s meeting a recent copy of Robert’s Rules of Order, the go-to book on how to conduct meetings. In addition, he had a copy of the same book that was new 25 years ago, a gift from his father. Adler said his father gave him the book when he was elected president of his junior high school class. Then he read the inscription from 1970: “To my son Steve … With the thought that within a framework of order and discipline, men of goodwill and intent can always find conciliatory and harmonious answers to further the well-being and betterment of their fellow men.” He added, “We just need to do that together as a group.” We’ll be watching for the times when that does not happen.
Jo Clifton is the Politics Editor for the Austin Monitor. More by Jo Clifton