Time for Atherton to enter the TV age

By Bob Jenkins

Editorial published in the Palo Alto Daily News on Friday, October 13, 2000 regarding Bob Jenkins' and Kathy McKeithen's proposal to televise Atherton City Council meetings

Candidates Kathy McKeithen and Bob Jenkins want to put Atherton council meetings on TV. That's not an astounding proposal considering the city councils in Mountain View, Palo Alto, and Menlo Park have been televising their meetings for years. But for some reason Atherton has resisted.

It couldn't be because of the cost. We're talking about Atherton, one of the wealthiest communities in the world.

We suspect Atherton leaders haven't wanted to put their meetings on TV because they were afraid the public would see what they were doing. If the public had seen former mayor Nan Chapman's behavior at meetings, when she rudely stifled public comment, then reform would have moved more quickly in Atherton.

It's time for Atherton to put its meetings on the air. If the public is watching the council, council members might start behaving.