4th Ward Councilman Coppa’s Response to Mr. Core’s Letter
Submitted by Councilman Larry Coppa – 4/05/00
In response to Mr. Core’s constructive criticism of me, I would like to say that he has GREATLY MISINTERPRETED my intentions and goals. I resent being called a self-serving individual.
The main reason that I wanted to become a councilman is so that I can help people. I believe in communicating to the people. If it looks as though I am being self-serving, I want the citizens of Toronto to know that this is NOT my goal. Toronto is a great place to live, and I want to see that it stays that way.
We do have a democratic form of government in the United States, and I have been elected by the people of the 4th Ward to be their representative. I believe that the citizens of Toronto should be informed, and that is why, thanks to Brenda Poole, my council meeting presentations have been put in Toronto in Focus.
If you would have checked Webster’s Dictionary, you would not have accused me of writing “editorials”. An editorial is, ” a newspaper or magazine article that gives the opinions of its editors or publishers.” If you would have read my council presentations, you would have realized that most of what I said was FACTS, and a small part of my presentations were my opinions.
You are WRONG when you accused me of bragging, when I presented information that exposed what was being done incorrectly by city officials, and when I gave information about the city’s finances, and explained what has been accomplished in the 4th Ward.
I would like to ask you, Mr. Core, who else is going to correctly communicate this information to the people? Has this kind of communication to the citizens of Toronto ever been done in the past?
In the last three months, I have attended 21 meetings with city officials and employees, made 29 visits with citizens in the 4th Ward, sent and received over 53 e-mails, made and received between 90 and 110 phone calls, and I study the city’s finances on a monthly basis. Many improvements have been accomplished in the 4th Ward, and many more are going to be accomplished in the future. All of this has been done for the purpose of helping the people in the 4th Ward.
I knew that being a councilman would involve a lot of work, if I wanted to do the job correctly. I only stated this information, to show that I am NOT being self-serving.
Finally, in response to your questions about putting the council meeting minutes in Toronto in Focus, I did not make a motion because I wanted to have a discussion first. Since no one on council responded to my suggestion, what would be the point of making a motion? I did talk to one councilman concerning this issue several days before the meeting. I presented this suggestion at the March 13th council meeting. At the March 27th council meeting I had to correct the minutes of the March 13th council meeting concerning this issue. The members of council had two weeks to think about my suggestion, and they could have brought up this topic in the unfinished business part of the council meeting. NO ONE DID ! The council meeting minutes are a matter of public record. According to the Ohio Revised Code section 121.22, every person is entitled to have a copy of the council meeting minutes. Therefore, it would NOT be ILLEGAL to have the minutes put in Toronto in Focus.
I hope from the information that I have presented that you will understand my intentions and goals. If I can help you in the future, feel free to call.
4th Ward Councilman Larry Coppa
