The nine-member Tacoma City Council has voted dozens of times on various ordinances and resolutions over the course of 22 meetings this year.

A review of voting records shows that every item passed, usually by a unanimous vote. Only twice did any council members vote “nay” and only once did a council member abstain.

This was something I noticed when I first started covering the council – everyone got along, all the members were in lockstep with each other and presented a happy, united front. I was reminded of it last month during the public safety subcommittee meeting when Councilman Mike Lonergan was a dissenting voice on a smoking ban for parks.

What I discovered is that by the time a particular ordinance or measure comes before the full council, the differences between members have already been hashed out (public testimony notwithstanding).

What does this mean for the “home gamers” who follow the action on TV Tacoma or seek to petition the council in person? To me, it says they might want to get involved in the process at an earlier stage – at the subcommittee level, where nascent legislation is hammered out.

Outsiders might not realize this, but the Committee of the Whole meeting is where a lot of the action and debate happens. Those meetings aren’t televised and they’re usually standing room only, but audio recordings go up online later in the week.

Ian Demsky, The News Tribune