Vice Mayor makes committee assignments, revamps committees.

by Rod Williams, Sept. 26, 2023, edited 9/28. - Vice Mayor Angie Henderson has made the new committee assignments for the new Metro Council. 

The real work of the council is done in committee.  In committee, members hear from the sponsor of a bill, can ask questions of the legal staff and relevant department personnel and get information about the fiscal impact of a bill. Member can argue the pros and cons of a bill. If you watch a Council meeting, and don't know what is under discussion and think things seem rushed, know that in most cases the bill was carefully examined in committee.  Most Council members rely heavily on the recommendation of the committee. 

Council rules give committees the power to defer the reading of a bill. Also, a committee can "indefinitely defer," a bill which means a committee can kill a bill. So, committees are very powerful.

In making committee assignments, I assume the vice mayor looks at the talents and desires and interest of individual members. Several committee meetings may be occurring at the same time and since a council member cannot be at two places at the same time, assuring committees can have a quorum is a factor in making assignments.  Also, I assume there is an effort to have a diverse representation on committees. One would not want all members of a committee to come from the same part of the county or be all of one race. 

It is important that committees represent different points of view. If any one committee is composed of all members endorsed by The Justice League, for instance, then a conservative or moderate member of the Council may decide, and rightly so in my view, to disregard that committee's recommendations. For the smooth functioning of the council, the council needs to have confidence in the committee system. In a future post, I will try to identify the ideological make-up of the various committees.   

In her making of committee assignment, Vice Mayor Henderson has cut the number of committees from eleven standing committees to eight. This seems wise and more manageable. I have posted below the membership of the committees and the chairs of the committee. The Planning and Zoning Committee chair is selected by the Council. In addition to these standing committees, from time to time there are special committees intended for a short duration or to address a particular issue. 

Here are the Committee assignments:

BUDGET AND FINANCE

• Allen, Burkley
• Cortese, Mike
• Druffel, Thom
• Evans, Erin
• Evans Segall, Quin
• Gregg, Jeff
• Gamble, Jennifer
• Huffman, Jordan
• Johnston, Courtney
• Kimbrough, Joy Smith
• Porterfield, Delishia (chair) 
• Spain, Jason
• Suara, Zulfat
• Toombs, Kyonzté
• Webb, Jennifer

TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE 

• Allen, Burkley
• Benedict, Emily
• Bradford, Russ
• Cash, Tom
• Ellis, Tasha
• Evans Segall, Quin
• Ewing, Sandy
• Hill, Olivia
• Horton, Rollin
• Kupin, Jacob
• Parker, Sean (chair) 
• Spain, Jason
• CHARTER REVISION
• Cash, Tom
• Johnston, Courtney
• Preptit, Jeff
• Rutherford, John
• Suara, Zulfat
• Toombs, Kyonzté
• Weiner, Sheri (chair)

PLANNING AND ZONING

• Allen, Burkley
• Benedict, Emily
• Capp, Clay
• Cortese, Mike
• Gadd, Brenda
• Gamble, Jennifer
• Harrell, Deonté
• Horton, Rollin
• Kupin, Jacob
• Parker, Sean
• Rutherford, John
• Vo, Terry
• Welsch, Ginny

PUBLIC FACILITIES, ARTS, AND CULTURE

• Capp, Clay
• Eslick, Jeff
• Ewing, Sandy
• Gadd, Brenda
• Hancock, Tonya
• Styles, Joy (chair) 
• Taylor, Brandon
• Vo, Terry
• Welsch, Ginny

RULES, CONFIRMATIONS, AND PUBLIC ELECTIONS

• Cash, Tom
• Druffel, Thom
• Evans, Erin
• Johnston, Courtney
• Lee, Antoinette
• Preptit, Jeff
• Sepulveda, Sandra (chair) 
• Toombs, Kyonzté

PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY

• Benton, David
• Bradford, Russ
• Evans, Erin (chair) 
• Gregg, Jeff
• Harrell, Deonté
• Huffman, Jordan
• Kimbrough, Joy Smith
• Nash, Robert
• Porterfield, Delishia
• Preptit, Jeff
• Sepulveda, Sandra
• Taylor, Brandon
• Weiner, Sheri

GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS AND REGULATIONS

• Benton, David
• Bradford, Russ (chair) 
• Ellis, Tasha
• Eslick, Jeff
• Hancock, Tonya
• Hill, Olivia
• Lee, Antoinette
• Nash, Robert
• Styles, Joy
• Webb, Jennifer
• Weiner, Sheri

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