Criticism
When asked in April 2005 if he thought he was more conservative than some of the older council members, Coonerty responded, "I think I have a fundamentally different outlook on the role of government, on important battles that need to be fought. A lot of people came of age in a time of direct conflict and the issues they were fighting were huge. Protecting the North Coast. Lighthouse Field. I believe we're in a different era. It's time to make the table a little bigger, to maybe not have big fights but instead look at a number of targeted policies. I don't see symbolic battles happening. I see it more about making sure the city operates within a set of core values in a way that brings more people into the process." Some business owners felt the increased law enforcement Coonerty supported in downtown Santa Cruz improved the area, while others called it a "crackdown" and said " didn't need to be so heavy-handed".
In early 2006, Coonerty voiced support for Santa Cruz police after it was reported that undercover officers had infiltrated community meetings to organize a New Year's parade without obtaining a permit. Coonerty supported an internal investigation, which cleared the police of any wrongdoing. The city's own police auditor determined that police had violated the civil rights of parade organizers and, with pressure from the community and the ACLU, the city put in place a policy to curb some of the abuses of police power.
After the Sentinel noticed his supporters wrote an "admittedly glowing Wikipedia profile that they hoped might hook Web-savvy young voters.", he was quoted as saying "Given it all, I would rather just not have a Wikipedia page". Like many other politicians, including Hillary Clinton, Coonerty has struggled to stop the spread of misinformation as anyone can edit a page on Wikipedia.
Read more about this topic: Ryan Coonerty
Famous quotes containing the word criticism:
“Cubism had been an analysis of the object and an attempt to put it before us in its totality; both as analysis and as synthesis, it was a criticism of appearance. Surrealism transmuted the object, and suddenly a canvas became an apparition: a new figuration, a real transfiguration.”
—Octavio Paz (b. 1914)
“As far as criticism is concerned, we don’t resent that unless it is absolutely biased, as it is in most cases.”
—John Vorster (1915–1983)
“I, with other Americans, have perhaps unduly resented the stream of criticism of American life ... more particularly have I resented the sneers at Main Street. For I have known that in the cottages that lay behind the street rested the strength of our national character.”
—Herbert Hoover (1874–1964)