The Evansville Courier Press has an article wherein BMV Commissioner Silverman displays his trademark sensitivity. The location of a Newburgh, Indiana hearing on that town’s branch has been moved to accommodate a larger crowd, but Commissioner Silverman would not change the Aug. 12 date of a Rockport, IN hearing.
[BMV spokesman] Cook also said BMV Commissioner Joel Silverman has denied a request from Rockport Mayor Beth Packer to move the date of that branch’s scheduled hearing n Aug. 12 at 7 p.m.
That’s the exact date and time of the scrimmage football game between South Spencer and Boonville high schools. Packer phoned the BMV, talked with Silverman personally and wrote Gov. Mitch Daniels to try to get the date changed.
“When I talked to Commissioner Silverman, he said that I guess if the people in your community choose to go to a football game instead of the public hearing, you know where their priorities are,” Packer said. “I told him that was exactly the impression I was afraid he would have and that isn’t the case.”
Packer added that some people, such as her husband who coaches the football team, would otherwise show up at the hearing but were alaready obligated to attend the game.
The plea didn’t change any minds.
I mean, Silverman is probably right. For all the hand wringing about how devastating communities say these things will be, most folks won’t be bothered to change their entertainment schedule to participate in a civic hearing. (On the other hand, Silverman has already made it fairly clear that he’s just going through the motions on the hearings, he plans on doing what he wants to do.) Right or wrong, though, it shows that Silverman’s diplomatic skills are lacking. He could have just as easily said something about a tight schedule given all of the other hearings and his other responsibilities.
Leave a Reply