A Port Orchard resident on Wednesday told the City Council that repeated failures by elected officials to respond to constituents are eroding public trust. Robert McGee addressed the council during the first citizen comment period and said he raised an issue about cabaret licensing on Feb. 11 and received no follow-up contact from council members or staff.
McGee said the silence from the council was not an oversight but a pattern: “This is why the community has lost trust,” he said. He criticized what he described as secrecy, inconsistent treatment of speakers and dishonesty on the record, and urged the council to be more responsive to the public.
McGee contrasted the council’s handling of public remarks across meetings and singled out what he described as inconsistent enforcement of courtesy toward speakers. He referenced an earlier speaker, Robert Showers, who had also criticized the council for secrecy and lack of engagement.
The remarks were made during the public comment portion of the meeting; no council action or formal staff response to McGee’s specific cabaret-licensing request was recorded in the transcript.
The comment period guidelines were reiterated at the meeting’s opening: speakers were allotted three minutes for public comment. The council proceeded with committee and agenda business after public comment, and the consent agenda and amended agenda were later approved by motions on the record.