Councilor Pope lets down constituents

Almost two years ago, 2,448 Baker City voters picked Milo Pope to represent them.

On Tuesday evening Pope let them down.

He failed to attend the regularly scheduled City Council meeting.

Not because he was out of town or otherwise unavailable.

By his own admission, Pope, who’s an attorney, chose instead to attend a private gathering at his law office.

Pope also acknowledged, in a telephone interview with the Herald, that he regrets his decision.

He said he hasn’t made a habit of missing Council meetings, nor does he intend to.

We’ll take Pope at his word.

Since he was sworn in in January 2009, Pope has missed seven of 54 meetings, including his absence Tuesday.

And he had good reason to miss three of those seven — this past winter while he was recovering from heart bypass surgery.

Nonetheless, Pope has an obligation to his six fellow councilors and to his constituents, including those who didn’t vote for him in the November 2008 election, to make the two monthly Council meetings his top priority, and to tailor his personal schedule accordingly.

We’re optimistic about the situation at City Hall after 15 months of occasional discord.

 The City Council voted unanimously to hire Mike Kee as city manager. Councilors also agreed to give Kee an employment contract, a break with the city’s long-standing tradition for its managers.

The only thing missing Tuesday night was Pope, who helped draft that contract, raising his hand when the vote was called.