Probably not a surprise to anyone by the title of this editorial, but during the Port Arthur City Council meeting this past Tuesday hypocrisy was in high form.

The hot topic over the past month has been the UCOPA petition to have an item placed on the November ballot that would have removed city council positions 7 & 8. Ultimately UCOPA came up 70 verified signatures shy and will not be able to move forward.

During the August 9^th PACC meeting District 6 City Councilman, Osman Swati, proposed to Council to have an item placed on the November ballot that would have Seats 5 & 6 removed. This item was passed in a 5-3 vote and will be on the ballot for citizens to voice their opinion on in November.

During the Tuesday, September 6 city council meeting District 5 City Councilman Willie Bae Lewis, a very strong supporter of the UCOPA petition to remove citywide Seats 7 & 8, raised concerns about Swati’s motion to remove seats 5 & 6, which are overlapping districts. Stating additional costs to tax payers as his biggest argument.

Hold on a minute. Would this not be the same with the UCOPA item that Councilman Lewis has been supporting? Or is it that seats 5 & 6 affect him personally and seats 7 & 8 do not.

Councilman Lewis goes on to further state “No one in the city supports Swati’s proposal”. This is inaccurate. Conversations have been swarming for a couple years now on the reduction of city council seats for the City of Port Arthur. Residents “Do” want a reduction in seats and now they have the opportunity to show just how much. Further, would Councilman Lewis be making that same statement if seats 7 & 8 were actually going to be on the ballot instead of 5 & 6? We think not.

Comments like these show a telling tale of a councilman who does not think of what is best for the entire city, but more for the individual. This is a part of moving forward that must change. We hope, that if the community of Port Arthur votes to remove seats 5 & 6 in November, and Mr. Lewis is done, that he stays done.

Port Arthur needs to move beyond the past that continues to hold it back from the greatness that so many want to see become reality. But in order to do that, current and former city council members that have been at the core of this issue for years, need to not be voted back into public office.