ELLENDALE MN city council can not limit my "letter" to 3 Mn at PUBLIC COMMENT time
507PatriotMn
AN Open Letter to the City of Ellendale, its City Council, and the Residents
On January 9th, 2025 I attended the Ellendale City Council as I normally have for over the past year.
The normally recorded and re-broadcast video malfunctioned. Because of the malfunction, and having elected a new Mayor (with previous Ellendale Mayoral experience), and two new City Council Members, I felt it necessary to write my 3-minute public comment presentation - and some added notes and observations thereafter.
Here are the contents of the 3 minutes. However, I can not guarantee that every word was spoken as I intended:
“When I address council meetings, I aim to educate, not confront, guiding these bodies back into the light when they stray from legal bounds or the collective ideals of their constituents.
My goal is to illuminate the path toward political and moral correctness, encouraging transparency and accountability in decision-making that mirrors the community's true desires and best interests.
My interactions are to remind officials that their role is to serve, not dominate, the community's interests. Sometimes, it’s vital to remind them that they are representatives of the public will, not just independent decision-makers.
My interventions are fueled by active citizenship—I refuse to sit by when I see lapses in democratic principles.
As an independent investigative journalist, my mission is clear: uncover the truth with integrity, free from the constraints of traditional media's financial pressures of subscriptions and advertising enabling me to prioritize truth over profit, ensuring that my work remains unbiased and entirely in the public interest.
It empowers me to ask critical questions and demand complete answers. By doing so, I equip the public with the information needed to participate, and to hold elected servants in power to account.
Very recently my efforts in a local community have spurred significant changes—policy reforms and community enhancements—affirming that empowered, informed citizens can drive progress.
In my advocacy role, I speak for the unspoken: those too shy, timid, or fearful to address the council directly. They reach out to me, confidants in a shared quest for justice, knowing that they are not alone.
In my quiet, dimly lit office, minutes, ordinances and laws lay like puzzle pieces, revealing the unchecked power of an elusive city council.
After a YEAR of uncovering questionable decisions and unexplainable lack of some enforcement that threatens our community’s democracy, my revelations—showcasing abuse of authority and disregard for state and federal laws—have sparked public outrage yet met the council's unyielding silence.
One Can't ask a question – can't get an answer. This is not governance, it is dictatorship.
With deep respect for the democratic process and the serious nature of this step, I must convey that the council's ongoing and repeated violations of civil, human, and constitutional rights and Minnesota's open meeting laws compel me to initiate legal action.
Judicial intervention has become an essential step—no longer just an option. The courts serve as a beacon for justice, crucial to restoring democracy from the shadows and ensuring governance thrives in full view, under the necessary scrutiny and accountability it demands.
Thank you for your time,
Keith Haskell