Our View: What happened, Dave?

Have you ever made a big purchase and the next morning you woke up with a sick feeling that you had made a big mistake? Imagine if that sick feeling was so bad that you felt you had made the biggest mistake of your life.

That's what happened to Dave Thomas the morning after he made the motion to give the appointed city manager of eight months a huge raise -- a raise that the city council had been blind-sided with from another abundantly paid support staffer, Bob Dowd.

But this issue isn't whether City Manager Gary Misenhimer deserved the raise or not.

A matter of days after the vote, Thomas submitted a letter for The Sentinel's Commentary page, after spending a good hour in our office reaffirming what he called "the biggest mistake" of his life.

He made a public apology, and said he would propose to the city council at its next meeting -- this Tuesday -- that the board reconsider the item on Misenhimer's vote.

He told us that the vote by the council had been a "disservice to the community and sent a bad message to the taxpayer."

So...fast forward to this Tuesday.

The council chambers were packed with people, the majority there, it seemed, to either witness the swearing-in of four new police officers, or participate in the public hearing on the proposed ethanol plant.

Thomas sat quietly at one end of the table, participating now and then in other items of business -- never bringing up "the biggest mistake of his life."

So what happened? Did public opinion sway his decision to stay mum? Or was he pressured by other city officials to keep his cool? We'll probably never know, as the last phone conversation we had ended with him slamming down the phone.

Either way, it seems that Thomas has sold out. Over the last few months, he has prided himself -- via our Commentary page -- on being a "man of the people."

What happened, Dave? The citizens of Hanford want to know.

(Feb. 21, 2008)