GOBs in Dport

I have complained in the past about the good ole boys (GOBs) and the nepotism that exists in the political body of my little City of Davenport, but it still exists today. Take, for example, the new Charter Review Committee.

The composition of that committee includes the wife of a current commissioner, the father of a current commissioner, and the life partner/husband of the City Clerk, who also happens to be the one taking minutes of the committee’s meetings. It boasts zero diversity, which is representative of the Commission but certainly not the community. In a city of over 20,000, I believe the commissioners could have done a far better job picking these members.

Here is what happens when you establish such a misrepresentative and tight-knit committee. On 1/19/24, when voting on whether to require a supermajority of the commission to fire the Clerk, the committee, including the husband of the Clerk, voted for it to appear on voters’ ballots in April 2025. The husband didn’t bother to recuse himself.

So, the husband voted to give his wife a what is tantamount to a lifetime position. How very nice of him. But, seriously, is there really nothing wrong with this scenario?

---

So you will know — without doubt — how close these politicians are, get a load of the following article by the daughter of former commissioner Tom Fellows. It talks about her very fond memories of the current mayor, a commissioner other than her dad, and City employees in decades past. (Donna grew up on Davenport.) Focus on the first two paragraphs. That’s all you need to know. The the good ole boy network in downtown Davenport runs deep.