Ex Cathedra

To speak Ex Cathedra is to speak with authority derived from one's position; it literally translates to "from the chair".  When the city's mayor speaks about matters involving city employees, she is assumed to be speaking ex cathedra by all of the citizens who hear her speak.  As Mayor Parker continues to bully my husband and two other firefighters who were suspended on false allegations of writing or allowing a racial slur to be submitted in a patient record, the citizens believe that she must be speaking based on factual evidence relating to the matter.

Truth be told, that unless she has read it in the last two weeks, she has not read the arbitrator's ruling, nor has she read the transcript of the arbitration hearing.  She admitted this to the union president in a meeting with him.  The Chief responsible for the firing said 25 times in the hearing that he "cannot honestly say that any of the three did it" (and 24 other variations of that phrase... 25 times!!  I'm stupefied by that!).  The city's legal staff admitted that they have no evidence to prove that any of the men are guilty of writing or allowing the phrase to be entered.  The investigator admitted that he did not investigate any other possibilities, repeating throughout the hearing "I don't know, I didn't look into that."  To speak with authority on a matter such as this, a matter that has ruined the good names of three men with a permanent shadow of doubt, one would hope that the speaker has done at least the minimum of research on the matter or that she understands the gravity of her claims.

The only conclusion I can muster about why she would speak publicly against these men, is that there is no consequence to her.  She does not have to back up her claims with her own money, and instead spends taxpayer dollars to continue bullying us (even during a major budget crisis in our city with layoffs left and right).  It seems that she is avoiding direct communication with us (after many e-mails from many of us) because she is too cowardly to stand by her own word.  I am still happy to meet and discuss this with her, and have even mentioned my willingness in each of the e-mails I've sent.  I also find the phrase that was in the patient record to be terribly unprofessional and in poor taste - I wish the author would stop being a coward and admit to it.  I'll also say that I find it in poor taste to uphold an assumption that is found to be inaccurate especially if it is a matter of selfish image bolstering.