Don’t leave us hanging

Don’t leave us hanging

The stage was all set. The boosters had come, ready to sing the praises of the Terrebonne Economic Development Authority, and so they did.

The timing was of extreme importance, because just a week before this all unfolded in front of the Terrebonne Parish Council, Michel Claudet and TEDA’s president, Clarence Johnson, had a talk. And Claudet gave indications – at least by Williams’ reckoning – that the organization’s future was in jeopardy.

Steve Vassallo, the group’s executive director, had marshaled the troops and the timing was indeed good for this because he was to give a presentation on all the group has done for the past year.

They are, after all, spending a lot of taxpayer dollars. 

Then came the bombshell, after all these people talking about how great TEDA is, which was Vassallo, when the man many credit with recent TEDA greatness, resigned. Said he told the group’s board already, and he gave a copy of his resignation letter to the parish council folks.

Arlanda Williams refused to accept it, and gave a heartfelt, emotional response. She is not the only one in this parish looking kindly on Vassallo and his work, that’s for sure.

So the conversation here, on this page, is not about whether TEDA is good or Vassallo should quit or be forced to remain, something the last time I checked is illegal.

It’s about Christa Duplantis, a marvelously independent council member, who has served the people for a long time and doesn’t tend to pull punches.

She was furious at the suggestion that TEDA might disappear, or at least that Vassallo, in order to save it, feels he must.

One man and one woman, she said, are likely behind all this, Duplantis said publicly, from a dais that belongs to the people.

No, she wasn’t going to mention names.

And that is what this column is really about.

At a public meeting where the list of speakers was in part swelled because of rumors, a well-meaning and dedicated public servant chose to add to the rumors rather than detract. 

In the newspaper, we can never – or should never – say things like “we think we know who is behind this dastardly thing.” 

It’s irresponsible. 

If you open the door a little bit, you had better open it the whole way, rather than adding to speculation.

So Christa, and all the other council members, especially with elections drawing near, I have a suggestion.

If you have the fortitude to say something nasty is afoot, have the fortitude to say who you think is behind it. Or ask someone addressing you in public what they know.

Don’t leave me on the edge of my seat staring at you saying “who” silently, over and over again, like I am an owl. It becomes nothing more at that point but the spreading of more rumors.

Just say it, so that everyone can hear it, or say nothing at all.

Especially if you tell us you are a public servant of courage, which I certainly believe you to be. It’s a wonderful way to prove it.

And who am I to make these suggestions, other than – truly – a member of the peanut gallery?

Why, respected and beloved council members, I am the guy with no dog in the fight other than a desire to know the truth, just like most people in Terrebonne Parish. And I am the guy whose credibility is not at stake.

But yours – as individual members and as a body – certainly is.