The saga continues. The three member Mayor/Council Committee that was supposed to determine action for Council Member Jolanda Jones has essentially dissolved itself and deferred action to the District Attorney.

Essentially, this means that Council Member Jones’ colleagues, the people she sits with at the table every day, decided not to censure her position on Council.

This was the first time we had seen this process utilized under a revised Ethics Ordinance and it didn’t seem to work too well. The Council Member who filed the complaint, Mike Sullivan, had an appointee to the Committee. The Council Member being accused of wrong doing had a representative on the Committee and the Mayor served as the third member.

This put each of the individuals in a tough position. It was obvious that the complainant representative and the representative of the accused would stand by their designated positions. The Mayor was the mediator and swing vote.

We will never know exactly what discussions occurred during the committee meetings but we do know that they decided not to act. Only one of the members, Council Member Bradford, is a lawyer and he was serving as the representative of Jones.

Ultimately, Council really does try to get along. Though there is always some drama at the table, they work together to accomplish what is best for Houston.

They are a truly “small group” charged with much to accomplish. Most members of the group know that today’s best friend may be tomorrow’s biggest disagreement. With the multitude of issues that the body deals with regularly, they learn that no one person will always vote with them and that expectations of support from some may not always realize in the way they anticipated.

There is a constant exchange of information, intense discussions, lobbying among themselves and vote-counting on a regular basis. This is required to achieve their goals.

Ultimately, the committee decided that disciplining one of their own was not feasible.

Will this lessen the tension at the table? Will it help them to get along better? Don’t count on it.