Former Mayor’s Platform Echoed as Law Professors Offer Clues on How to Argue

By Pauline Masson –

I read an opinion piece in the New York Times yesterday that said the minority members of the Supreme Court are losing an opportunity by publicly worrying that the legitimacy of the Supreme Court is at risk because of recent unpopular rulings.

Ryan Doerfler of Harvard and Samuel Moyn of Yale, both PhDs and law professors, suggest that rather than crying about what they think the Supreme Court has done wrong, and worrying that the public will no longer trust it, minority justices could do a stronger job of holding onto to public confidence by arguing in the affirmaive. 

The law professors say the liberal justices should center their arguments – not on losing confidence in the court – but by offering strong alternatives to the decisions they disagree with. They should make a strong case for what they see as the best outcome of the issue and get it on the books.

Dissenters should say, here’s where we need to go and what we need to do to get there.

I recall a young Pacific mayor making this same argument about public issues in our town. About 20 years ago, when a favorite son was elected mayor of Pacific, he said almost the same thing the Harvard and Yale brain trust is now saying.

Jeff Titter, age 27 at the time – after serving one term as an alderman – ran for mayor. He ran on a dual promise. Every citizen deserved to have his or her voice heard, he said. He would listen to residents. And then he said pretty much what they Harvard and Yale gurus said yesterday. He said, if elected, he would build his admnistration on proactove procedures. He would not say, “This is wrong, let’s fix it.” He would say, “This is what’s right for Pacific. Let’s define what it takes to accomplish this and do it.”

As it would happen, Jeff would take office just as Pacific was having one of the toughest fights in its history over a new subdivision. Silver Lakes Estates was the biggest residential development in the city’s 149 years, and had the promise of being the city’s biggest dream or biggest nightmare, depending on who was speaking.

The public hearing on the plan for the new development was the first real challenge to Jeff’s campaign promises. I wrote at the time that if I had to select an issue to give the new mayor’s campaign promise a dry run, I would have picked something that didn’t have so many sides to it. Everybody had an opinion and wanted to air it.

Up to that time listening to concerns (worries and fears) of residents had not been Pacific’s strong suit. People who showed up at City Hall said they were tuned out, turned off and accused of being against progress.

But here’s what happened. In that one brief shining moment, the huge crowd that arrived to speak were careful, cordial and courteous as they addressed the official body to plea for what they thought should be included in or left out of the new subdivision.

Nobody was shy. They said what they wanted to happen. But seemingly in deference to the new young leader – who most of them had known all his life – they talked in the affirmative. “Here is what we need to do.” “Here is what would be best for our city.” “Let’s do this right.”

At the end of the meeting, I reported that I didn’t know whether they could build a great subdivision, but it seemed clear that the new mayor intended to open up the process and let everyone have their say in a friendly city govenrnment environment. I’m not exaggerating. This really happened

Jeff Titter only served one term as Pacific’s mayor. He might credit his lasting legacy as that he founded the Meramec Valley History Museum. He actually started talking about a local history museum before he ran for mayor. As an alderman he called a meeting of local history buff and outlined his plan for a place to show Pacific memorabilia. About half a dozen people showed up. Some brought items they wanted to donate to his museum. My friend the late Carl Zitzman agreed to attend with me and  brought along the shaving mug and razors that his father and town barber August Zitzman had used in his barber shop that occupied the site where Brown Jerry’s now stands.

After he was elected mayor, Jeff put a small glass case in the City Hall lobby to display the donated items. People donated so many items he had to find a place to store the collection. Then as he left office he parlayed an agreement with the board of aldermen to turn the former Wolf residence on Union Street into a city history museum.

\When the city later sold the history museum building and bought the Red Cedar Inn building, Jeff helped to place the history collection in storage. He has served as a member of the history museum committee and worked his proactive theory to craft a merger of the two local history groups – the history museum committee and local genealogical society housed at City Hall into one history society, which is what we have now.

People keep fussing over what the actual name of this group is, but generically it is a combined memorabilia history museum and family history (genealogy) archive. I’ve opeted to call it the history society, with a small h and a small s. And, I have to tell you . . . it holds a pretty impressive collection of the city’s past.

Jeff never lost interest in the city’s history. Even though he no longer lives in the city, he attends local history meetings and presentations. He researched, wrote, assembled historic photographs, and narated public programs on Pacific floods and public works contributions of all Pacific mayors. He helped through every phase of designing the contents and use of the planned Red Cedar history museum.

All this with a pretty impressive day job. He currently serves as the director of the Franklin County Communications/911 dispatch center. And he is still as diplomatic as all get out. 

When the Red Cedar opens as a visitor center and history museum in the coming months, it will be a testament to one man’s belief that you have to believe in your idea and you have to keep saying it in way that will persuade people that this is what should happen.