I attended my first Clark County Council meeting Wednesday – and came away with admiration for Councilor Temple Lenz, as well as new-found scorn for Medvigy.
Medvigy used his time to scold Councilor Lenz for 'giggling like a schoolgirl'. His comments directed toward Councilor Lenz were an unacceptable breach of protocol in any governing body. Worse - he used demeaning sexist language, in an attempt to diminish her status - but only succeeded in diminishing himself. This kind of scolding, sexist language is not only inappropriate for a public governing body, it is unbecoming an adult male—or even a well-behaved teenage boy—in the Twenty-First Century.
Worse still was the chair’s behavior. Rather than admonishing Medvigy for his attack, to regain some measure of decorum in the meeting, she remained silent until Councilor Lenz objected, then responded as an enabler of Medvigy’s bullying, by suggesting that Councilor Lenz had provoked him with her facial expression.
Councilor Lenz did the adult thing, apologizing for a facial expression that may have set off Medvigy. But Medvigy, whose transgression was much worse, said nothing.
There was only one adult in that three-way interaction. Councilor Lenz’s composure and dignity will be sorely missed when she leaves at the end of her term.
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