After a 10-minute discussion late Tuesday, the council gave preliminary approval for a waiver of city rules that will allow Anderson to raise money for his fledgling nonprofit organization between now and when he leaves office Jan. 7.
Anderson wants to set up office space, gather "seed money" and arrange pro-bono legal work for the HumanKind Education Fund, his not-for-profit outfit dedicated to education and advocacy of human rights and climate change. He pledged to disclose donors and refuse money from city contractors.
City rules prevent officeholders from taking any gifts, including money, which required a "non-applicability" resolution for the mayor.
Longtime Anderson critics Dave Buhler and Nancy Saxton balked, saying they worried about personal enrichment and blurring an ethical line in the city.
And then: a procedural snafu.
Because the council adjourned its official meeting, a formal vote was pushed until next week.
"The gavel went down," Council Chairman Van Turner shrugged in a post-meeting work session.
"We spaced it," Councilwoman Jill Remington Love added, as Anderson looked on.
Both made up for the slight by agreeing to the waiver in a straw-poll vote. They were joined by council members Soren Simonsen and Eric Jergensen, who made up the necessary four votes. Buhler and Saxton voted no, while Carlton Christensen was undecided.
- Derek P. Jensen
The HumanKind Education Fund is a unique grass-roots nationwide organization that:
* Identifies a limited number of precise human-rights or climate-protection issues.
* Develops a strategy for informing and organizing people who can, together, effectively push for humane change.
* Supports and coordinates efforts in local communities throughout the nation to bring about major changes to save and improve lives and build a better world.
Source: Mayor Rocky Anderson
