Who Is Hurt When Diane Lawless Doesn’t Call Her Constituents Back?

So from its very name, 6 Friends celebrated the values of cooperation, non-judgment, and appreciating a diversity of friends. It also had the damndest rotating selection of original gelato flavors, incredibly tasty crepes, paninis that would make your tongue want to slap your mouth, local beers, and wonderfully talented local musicians. Hundreds of people found a new home for their nights out, 20 or 30 at a time. Regularly I and others would bicycle, walk or drive down, hang out, enjoy the people and the music. Lexington had become a richer place. No one can guess how many people were like me, who were helped a bit through their own hard times by its community. Lexington had another place where anybody could hang out, and not worry about whether their sexuality or anything else made them out of place. “As Dee noted: Gelato, Crepes, Fresh Sandwiches, Good Beer and Good Friends…What else is there?”

What else there was were great times, incredibly talented musicians and an ever-changing menu that rolled from 2010 into 2011. With the 2011 elections heating up, in September of 2011, I didn’t notice or get to read a troubling sign—this post on 6 Friends Facebook page:

Well friends, time for a little hard truth! The past 3 months have been very difficult on your 6 Friends Cafe. No music, thank you anonymous protester down the street, for the past 3 months has cost us crucial revenue needed to get through the winter. If you would like to continue to enjoy our quirky cafe, we NEED you to come in and have some lunch or dinner with us during the next week or two. Hopefully the music will begin again September 30th but the damage has certainly been done. We need your help!

That sign was the only clue. Although the porch music stopped, some wonderful indoor music rolled on through December. Then, in January of 2012, that ominous post from September about lost revenues needed to get through the winter returned in the horrible news-6 Friends Cafe was closing forever:

 

The first post of 2012 for The 6 Friends Cafe is a necessary , yet sad post. The cafe will be closing it’s doors. I want to thank each of you for all of your support. The laughter, conversation and friendship that you brought to the cafe was so appreciated! We will be doing one final blow out weekend of music this coming weekend. Details to follow. I will miss the sounds of your laughter in the cafe. Thanks again for the support that each of you gave!

Saturday, January 7, 2012 was the big blowout night. Was I going to miss hearing Beth Burden and her guitar close it out? Miss being there with Dee at the end? Of course not. At that point, the only help possible was to be there for a friend, and to bring a really, really, really, really good bottle of bourbon.

That night, Dee did it like she did most things—the right way. She connected with all the friends and community that wanted to thank her for giving Lexington a place like 6 Friends. Beth Burden’s magic guitar helped everyone through. During the night, I had the chance to catch up with Dee. She talked about why 6 Friends was closing. Here’s what she told me (and Dee has confirmed the accuracy of the following):

During the normally productive summer months, a neighbor a few doors down had filed a complaint against 6 Friends alleging a violation of the city’s zoning ordinance based on the live music from 6 Friends front porch. This front porch is directly across the street from the park’s amphitheater which regularly hosted the exact same sort of live music. 6 Friends was zoned for business. While the matter was pending, 6 Friends was unable to book musicians, which in turn reduced the number of customers for those normally productive summer months.

Finally, in late September, the complaint was presented to Lexington’s zoning board.  The complainant was an absent homeowner a few doors down from 6 Friends, who brought the action through a local attorney. Dee did not have money to hire an attorney, and went herself to try to resolve the complaint.

Dee pointed out that the music was acoustic, identical to that from the park, and then said she wanted to try to get along with her neighbors. An opportunity for Dee and the attorney to meet outside and conduct informal mediation was given. Dee gladly accepted. She opened the conversation by repeating that she wanted to do whatever was needed to get along with all neighbors, and then Dee asked what she needed to do work something out.

The response to Dee was that they weren’t really interested in working anything out with “her kind”.

Dee Cain believes “her kind” was a reference to her sexual orientation.  Dee has lived in many states, and in some of the more backward parts of the country, including Texas. Prior to that moment, she had never been singled out based on her sexual orientation. For that to happen in Kentucky would probably not be surprising, but for that to happen Lexington is quite surprising.

When the proceedings reconvened, Dee had the presence of mind to report the comment about “her kind”. The attorney did not deny saying it. Instead, he pointed out that the term could have been referring to anything. He said that by saying “her kind” he may have meant that she was Irish.

Because of the lost summer of revenue, the damage was done.

After the proceeding, only indoor music was allowed. January 7, 2012 was the day the music died.

Diane Lawless was Dee’s council representative.  Dee voiced her frustration to me that she couldn’t get any advance information, direction, help or response from Lawless during that time, and couldn’t get any information about the process before the matter was heard. Dee had no idea that in 2008 I had contributed to, rallied and worked for Diane Lawless. She told me that Diane was her city council representative. Dee says : “As for contacting Diane, I made two calls, both to her government office, leaving a message both times. I conveyed in the message, to the person that answered the phone, the severity and the details of the situation. I left my cell phone number and never received a return call.”

Was one of the most creative places to hang out in Lexington shut down in part from losses resulting from a zoning violation allegation in a Lexington where one of the parties referred to Dee’s sexual orientation? That is a real possibility.  Beyond what Dee has related, there is no information about the process itself in this post, and this post is not a criticism of the process.

Was the lack of music the only factor that hurt 6 Friends? Absolutely not. Was it a major factor in the cafe having to close forever? Yes, it absolutely was. Dee reached out to Diane Lawless. To her elected representative. To someone who could direct Dee to information to help her through this process. In recent debates, Lawless has claimed that if someone tries to contact her through Facebook, they shouldn’t expect her to respond.  Read the above link and judge her reasoning yourself-this contains a trasnscript of her “explanation”.  The incoherent reasoning behind that excuse is not clear—after all, Facebook messages aren’t some magical mystery like the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland, inexplicably disappearing without warning. They are accessible from anyplace that has internet access, including a cell phone. But even that excuse fails here.

Dee contacted 3rd District Council Member Diane Lawless the way Diane Lawless says she is supposed to: by calling her at her council offices and leaving detailed messages. Not once. Twice. Would things have been different if Diane Lawless had returned Dee’s pleas for help, or had someone else on the city’s staff return her calls? It is impossible to say. But this is certain: Diane Lawless, as Dee’s elected representative, failed her at a critical time, and Dee was subsequently hurt through a process that included a party referring to Dee’s sexual orientation, or at least, to “her kind”.

Even in a formal, more judicial administrative hearing, there is nothing to prevent an official from returning a phone call. Kentucky law (KRS 13B.100) says plainly that only “substantive” communications are prohibited, and that if one occurs, it does not invalidate the process.  The substance of that communication simply has to be placed in the record if it occurs. Returning phone calls from participants and answering their questions about what will occur is a necessary part of the process even for formal hearings.

But zoning matters are not even judicial administrative hearings.  Requirements for zoning are relaxed by design, and recognized as such by the Kentucky Supreme Court. For over 40 years, the Kentucky Supreme Court has said zoning matters are not just judicial, but are also legislative in nature. As recently as 2005, the Court has affirmed zoning processes were not required to operate as an impartial tribunal in the same way as a judicial body. In that case, the Court again noted communications outside the zoning hearing are not prohibited, and said:

The Court of Appeals reversed the Circuit Court’s ruling, holding that prejudgment and bias by the two Fiscal Court members operated to deprive Hilltop of procedural due process. Specifically, the evidence suggested that the members communicated, in both public and private messages to their constituents prior to a hearing on the matter, their opposition to subsurface mining in general. One of the members was alleged to have said that she “would never vote for a mine in this area of Boone County” because “[t]he people in Boone County just don’t want it.” Judge Knopf dissented from the majority’s opinion, arguing that it departed from the recognized standard of review in zoning cases and failed to appreciate the legislative aspects of the process. From this decision, we granted discretionary review to both parties. We now reverse and remand, finding nothing in this record which violates Hilltop’s right to procedural due process of law.

There cannot be any basis to claim that Diane Lawless is excused from all communications of any sort in any zoning matters. Such a claim flies in the face of forty years of Kentucky law allowing it. There is no excuse for 3rd District Council Member Diane Lawless failing to represent Dee by returning her call.

Dee is not the only resident of the 3rd District who has been hurt by Diane’s failure as a leader.  In Lexington’s 2nd District, Council Member Tom Blues has not hesitated to meet with constituents and discuss matters such as crime in their areas, and has been willing to also confer with public safety staff to see what can be done to address the issue.  Unfortunately, as Josh Monroe notes in his recent letter to the editor, there is no such help available to residents of the 3rd District:

When contacted about a problem with vandalism and burglary in our neighborhood due to the recent vacancy of a business, Lawless could not be bothered to answer any questions. I contacted her using multiple forms of communication, only to be told that she did not have a “magic wand.”

To Dee, again:  Thank you.  You brought a vision to life in a wonderful way, and touched a lot of people through 6 Friends.  It shouldn’t have ended so soon, and shouldn’t have ended this  way.

Diane Lawless—When you fail to do your duty as an elected representative, real people like Dee are hurt. And more than that, our community is hurt. We have lost a special place to meet and have community through a process that included an apparent reference by a party to sexual orientation, and you failed to call Dee back when she wanted directions on what to expect from the process. You have hurt Dee, and you have hurt the hundreds of people who loved 6 Friends and its sense of belonging.

How can this have been allowed to happen in Lexington?  Lexington is a town that has a longstanding commitment to equal rights for all.  I will always have the sadness of losing the place of community, and the sadness of knowing that came through a process in which a party referred to Dee’s sexual orientation, or at least, to “her kind”.

If you serve for two more months or two more years, it is time to change. Please show up for council proceedings.  Please return phone calls from constituents like Dee and Josh, respond to those who you work for, show up and lead on the urgent matters facing Lexington, and take positions that protect Lexington’s most vulnerable citizens.

If you don’t, Lexington and its residents will continue to suffer from your lack of leadership.

Updated at 9:49 p.m:

Stephen Shepard, another constituent of Diane Lawless, just shared this further example of Diane’s failures as a leader, from his request last year:

“And here’s this authors (Stephen’s) exchange with Diane over a bike lane that was over extended on Maxwell Street, asking his then city council woman what her position on it was:

from: stephen
to: Diane Lawless
date: Tue, Aug 23, 2011 at 10:48 AM
subject: SMS with Diane Lawless

It’s Stephen Shepard, plans to kill the bike lane on Maxwell?

from: Diane Lawless
to: stephen
date: Tue, Aug 23, 2011 at 10:49 AM
subject: SMS with Diane Lawless

Not sure what will happen.

from: stephen
to: Diane Lawless
date: Tue, Aug 23, 2011 at 10:51 AM
subject: SMS with Diane Lawless

They just installed the damn thing! Lol.

from: stephen
to: Diane Lawless
date: Tue, Aug 23, 2011 at 10:51 AM
subject: SMS with Diane Lawless

Do you have a position on it?

from: stephen
to: Diane Lawless
date: Tue, Aug 23, 2011 at 11:02 AM
subject: SMS with Diane Lawless

Well I’m on Maxwell and curious how this will play out, I’ll be watching this.

from: Diane Lawless
to: stephen
date: Tue, Aug 23, 2011 at 11:09 AM
subject: SMS with Diane Lawless

Write to all CM’s!!

from: stephen
to: Diane Lawless
date: Tue, Aug 23, 2011 at 11:10 AM
subject: SMS with Diane Lawless

Lol, I’m in your district! You mean CM at large as well?

from: stephen
to: Diane Lawless
date: Tue, Aug 23, 2011 at 11:11 AM
subject: SMS with Diane Lawless

I talk to Steve Kay too.

from: stephen
to: Diane Lawless
date: Tue, Aug 23, 2011 at 2:17 PM
subject: SMS with Diane Lawless

The Kentucky Kernel is at my front door asking about the bike lane.

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