A curious coupling of councilmembers issued a 4:59pm memo last Friday recommending the City Council adopt what sounds at first like a reasonable idea. Unfortunately, the path to bad policy is often paved with reasonable ideas.

As someone who embraces public service as an integral part of the American social contract, it dismays me when government moves to minimize the voice of the people it represents. Case in point: The recent flirtation with folding 20 volunteer City Commissions into five. Yes, that’s five.