Rex Rolfing

Decorum? Tell Abe Lincoln.

I was asked to remove my hat tonight while addressing the city council by city councilor Rolfing because of ‘decorum’

– politeness, manners, dignity –

Didn’t know wearing a hat offended anyone? But apparently Mr. Rolfing thought so. I removed my hat and quoted my favorite founding father in reference to independence day:

“Anyone who trades liberty for security deserves neither liberty nor security”

Well, I kinda said that. I wonder if the French asked Franklin to remove his coon skin cap while negoitating, or if Abe Lincoln was asked to remove his hat, because of ‘Decorum’. I think Mr. Rolfing has a bullshit view of what political ‘decorum’ entails. I suggest he does his research. He forgets that ‘I’ elected him, and ‘I’ pay his wages, not the other way around. Now if he was wearing a hat, maybe it would be ‘decorum’ for me to ask him to remove ‘his’ hat, but not the other way around. But to tell you the truth, I don’t give a shit, let’s move on with things that are important to city government, prudence and honesty, not hats. I also ranted about indoor pools, parking ramps and employee listings. I must warn you, I had a beer and a wine at Parkers and a fantastic piece of fish (that tasted like a porkchop) before my onslaught. But hey, I’m not getting paid to toot my horn, so lubrication is good. Right?

Build it Downtown ignored at SF city meeting

Rex ‘My way or the highway’ Rolfing

From my email box;

If you haven’t seen this yet, Councilor Rolfing is running interference now that Litz is moving on. BID was invited to the Land Use Committee meeting Monday, we were on the agenda last item to give a presentation of the Cherapa plan. Darrin Smith spent 45 minutes before us talking about the river greenway, pettigrew, gigglebees, redevelopment etc. We get ready to present (Jeff S. was there-Cherapa Place) and Councilor Rolfing chimes in about a “highly charged” presentation and we shouldn’t present without the other side and some other gibberish. Rex moved to change the agenda. Litz seconds the motion. So they vote and Rex votes yes to change the agenda and councilor Erpenbach votes no. Councilors Anderson and Litz don’t vote so they are counted as yays. Meeting over. Erpenbach was upset. Every other councilor but Brown was in the audience.

This email was sent to Rolfing after the meeting by BID;

Rex,

I won’t address your comments from earlier tonight, but I did think I should point out that your insistence that you had enough votes to pass the amendment was wrong. You made a motion to amend the agenda. You had one person (you) vote yes to amend the agenda. One person voted no. Two others didn’t vote. You need a majority of the members of the committee to vote in the affirmative to pass your motion. Those who didn’t vote should be counted as no votes. You did not have a majority vote to amend the agenda.

But according to the Argue Endorser;

Rolfing made a motion that the presentation be removed. He voted in favor; Erpenbach opposed. Councilors Bob Litz and Kenny Anderson Jr. did not vote, which under the council’s rules counted as yes votes.

Seems a little odd to me? I would think if they didn’t vote, they didn’t count, which would have made it a tie. But hey, I don’t make up the rules here.

While I’ll stay out of this pissing match, I will say two things;

1) BID is correct, Rolfing didn’t have the authority on his own to amend the agenda.

2) This is a perfect example of why the committee meetings need to be video recorded.

Rex Rolfing; possibly the ‘kinder gentler’ Kermit Staggers?

I have been very impressed by councilor Rolfing. While I don’t agree with him 50% of the time, I do admire him. He asks great questions and does it in a layman way, so citizens understand. You can tell he enjoys serving the citizens. That was one of the things I admired about Kermit, whether you agreed or disagreed with him, you could tell he had your best interest at heart, and I think Rex does to. Rex is a regular at the restaurant I work at, and from all accounts, he is the same kind of guy in person, this isn’t an act.

If there ever was a surprise on the new council, it is Rex. Trust me, I’m not the only one who has chattered about it, many other politicos in our community have taken notice.

Keep up the good work.