Kumbaya, My Council, Kumbaya

The latest fracture in the City Council pops up today, as Council President Jody Joseph says he might file an ethics complaint against fellow Councilor Ted DeSalvatore over DeSalvatore's involvement with the Bourbon Street restaurant and lounge (you can get all the details in the daily online around 11).

It's the second blowup of the week, the first being the DeSalvatore-Tran contretemps over Chief Edward Cronin and CORI reports (you can scroll through endless comments here under previous posts if you need to get up to speed).

Add in the recently fileting of DeSalvatore at public meetings and the vote for a new councilor (although there has been no public unrest over that one, certainly there was a two-side difference of opinion internally on that one), and it seems like the council isn't exactly holding hands and singing songs before meetings.

There's politics, personalities, and pressure involved here. It's an election year, and some councilors are seeking higher office. Others are trying to make sure they get re-elected. It seems apparent that some councilors don't like others. And there's pressure in that the city is looking to the council to do the right thing, move the city forward, and do it on the cheap.

It can't be the best situation for the city, but it's not too surprising. To get 11 elected officials on board and happy with each other all the time would be downright amazing, if not impossible. A squabbling council is usually not the most effective council, but maybe this one will prove otherwise. If nothing else, they are making it interesting to watch.