Lake Worth Commissioner Ryan Maier's right to speak freely has been taken away by his handlers*

Please note: The next City Commission meeting is this coming Tuesday, April 19th.

Shortly after the video (see below) was taken at a City Commission meeting in January, Commissioner Maier's freedom of speech rights were taken away by his handlers. If you attend Commission meetings or watch the City's video, you know that Maier doesn't talk much any more, and NEVER if the opportunity to speak is an unscripted or spontaneous one.

It would seem the strategy is to keep him silent to not cause any further damage. If you didn't know, Maier is up for re-election next March (read about that in the right-hand column of this blog).

The mistakes and errors of fact by Maier are too long to list here but this is the latest one: He telling his constituents he's a member of the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council (TCRPC). He's not. Maier is simply the City's liaison to the TCRPC. When he goes to the monthly meetings he sits in the public seating area just like the rest of the public that attends. He doesn't vote on anything at the TCRPC.

Maier's coaching crew must have been so displeased by his presentation speaking about his attendance at the Climate Summit in Key West when he says this starting at the 5:00 mark:

"One moment. I lost my place. [15 second pause] Sorry, I got a little lost here. And I'll be honest I'm not a numbers guy. But this did seem very crucial."

It may have been awkward for Maier but it was cringe-worthy for most of us in the City Commission chambers. Starting at the 7:20 mark Commissioner McVoy tries to pick up the slack for Maier and get things back on track vis-à-vis their sea level rise presentation. Here is the video and fast-forward to the 5:00 mark to hear Maier say, "Sorry, I got a little lost here":
Anyhow, starting at the 13:45 mark Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell gives a short (1:45) summation of his take-away from his attendance at the sea level rise summit in Key West. He essentially continues this theme that he maintained throughout his last campaign for re-election (which he won in a landslide):

The clear message from the people of Lake Worth is "Keep the focus Local!

*In the last development, Maier was absent at the last City Commission meeting. The City Clerk said he was not feeling well. Maier's absence is fueling more speculation that he's being kept from interacting with his constituents.