Once a week, Council is his captive audience

If it's Thursday, it's Frank Fisher Day - at least for City Council.

That's when Fisher, a recent gadfly, takes to the mike to harangue members about the controversial DROP pension program. So anticipated are his words that when he showed up Thursday and announced he would not talk about DROP, several Council members broke into mock applause.

Fisher's ability to spout off comes courtesy of a November state Supreme Court ruling that required Council for the first time to allow public comments at each and every regular Thursday session.

It is not most members' favorite part of the day. While most speakers have been respectful, the practice has lengthened meetings sometimes by more than an hour - and that's with a limit of three minutes per speaker. People can talk only about bills awaiting final passage.

Determined to make the comment period more orderly, Council President Anna C. Verna wants to move those bills languishing before final passage to what is called the "suspension calendar."

That, of course, would eliminate some of the repeated public comments.

But while Verna may try to shut him up, don't count on its stopping Fisher.

- Troy Graham and Jeff Shields

Singing her praises, bashing her signings

In politics, one day you're popular; the next day you're not.

Take the case of Betty Beaufort.

Two years ago, Democratic State Rep. Kenyatta Johnson sponsored a resolution honoring the longtime Point Breeze activist for her work in the community. Last week, his campaign accused her of being part of a "brazen" forgery.

Beaufort circulated petitions to get lawyer Damon Roberts on the primary ballot in the Second Council District, which is represented by Verna, who is retiring. Johnson also is pursuing the seat. His campaign argued that Beaufort's signatures attesting to her qualification to circulate the petitions were "so distinct and different" that they clearly "were signed by someone other than Ms. Beaufort."

Two of the signatures were signed Betty Beaufort, crossed out, and then replaced with ones using her legal first name, Betsy. That seemed fishy to Johnson's campaign.

Beaufort, however, testified in court that she merely had forgotten to sign her legal name and corrected the mistake in front of a notary. Ultimately, challenges to Roberts were dropped, and he remained on the ballot.

When she testified, Beaufort took along her nicely bound statehouse resolution - signed by Johnson - which called her an "extraordinary citizen."

On the document, she is identified as "Betty Beaufort."

- Troy Graham