I attended the Commissioners’ regularly scheduled meeting Wednesday morning.  Bombshells and brickbats were thrown, juggled and caught, all in an atmosphere of forced civility.  Drama there was a-plenty, which was not reflected by the news reporters covering the event.  Here’s a first-hand account, unbiased and fourth-row center.

Pete Shaub presided; following a couple of routine resolutions for which there was no discussion and unanimous approval, the Commissioner Chair asked for “other business.”  Molly Henderson announced she had five motions to enter, saying the first of which – clearly the most important – did not need a second and that she requested a roll-call vote for each of the motions. 

As she read the first motion, which would immediately replace Shaub with Dick Shellenberger as Chairman, Shaub's face assumed what you might call his trademark steely impassivity.  (I've been on the receiving end of Shaub's apparent ability to compartmentalize – he hears or sees something that is best tuned out, from his perspective, and he mentally goes somewhere else.  He never forgets…..but his listening is on some other level.)  As Henderson's motions – indictments all of Shaub’s actions and management – rolled on, Shaub roused himself from time to time to swat at the annoying fly of her voice and words…..”pay the courtesy of getting this material to all of us more than five minutes before a meeting…..will of the board…..sky is not falling…….”  Cant for the masses; clearly in Pete-World just saying something, no matter how farcically removed from reality or truth, makes it real. 

All motions passed – a foregone conclusion as Shellenberger is choosing to act independent of Shaub (not in opposition necessarily – but on his own initiative).  Some things did not happen that, like the non-barking dog, are of note: after the vote was taken on removing Shaub from the Chairmanship, replacing him with Shellenberger, I do believe Dick should have been able to move to the center chair and moderate the rest of the meeting; the word was, after all, “immediately.”  Pete bulled on.  Henderson had asked, then repeated her request, for a roll-call vote.  Shaub brushed this aside with, “It’s unanimous, what does it matter?”   It did matter – Henderson’s request was purposeful and appropriate in the circumstances; Shaub's steamrollering it was out of order.

A question from the floor, pressing Shaub to present his vision for planning as it differs from Ron Bailey’s (given the apparent contradiction of Shaub’s forcing Bailey’s resignation and his joining in a standing ovation for Bailey at the budget hearing in November), and also to explain why he feels compelled to lump Paul Thibault, Friends of Better Government, and Ron Bailey together in a conspiracy to embarrass him, drew a dismissive “No commissioner acts independently – we’ll all share our vision for the county in January.”  No further mention of conspiracy rationale.  End of meeting.