Daily Kos: Married Indiana Town Council members have Seized Control of City
RTFA: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/7/27/16343/2947
Roseland, Indiana is a small town in north central Indiana that has been usurped by two married town counsel members: Dorothy and David Snyder. Why this hasn’t hit the MSM I’ll never know, but it’s an amazing example of political power gone awry.
The two forced elections for town counsel president in July and ousted the current president in a 2-1 vote and the wife, Dorothy Snyder, took control of the town. Since then, residents have been arrested for protesting at the city hall and have been ticketed for signs that display messages demanding new elections to oust the Snyders. An unequivocal dictatorship has been established in Roseland. More below
The story of small-town Roseland, Indiana is truly remarkable. For years, it appears locals have seethed with anger at the very mention of the name “Snyder.” David Snyder appears to have earned the animosity expressed by the town.
Although we’ve posted excerpts of the September 14th attack to RTFA, the full and uncut video is available here. In it, you can distinctly hear the extent to which the townsfolk dislike the Snyders. Seriously - this video is an amazing window into the town of Roseland.
In the WNDU comment forum, if you can get your opinion past the moderators, you will be among dozens of local Roselanders who are perfectly happy with how things happened. Watching the extended video from WNDU, this is obvious. One woman taunts Mr. Snyder and takes pictures of his broken forehead. Another man asks if Mr. Snyder tripped and fell. The town is happy with its justice, but it seems there are people elsewhere on the planet who are adding their opinions.
All the while, WNDU’s copyright takedown notices have prevented this story from being discussed on YouTube, almost as if the small town wanted to keep its business private — as if the rest of the world should stay out of Roseland. Of course, it was WNDU itself that put several versions of the video online, for global consumption. It’s a compelling story that goes back at least to 2005, when Roseland first started publishing its woes of the Snyders, and their successful conquering of the town council.
For better or worse, this story will unfold in a very public manner, in such a way that its public nature has become part of the story itself.
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October 13th, 2007 at 1349
David Snyder was born in Roseland, his father was born in Roseland. His grandfather was also on the Roseland Town Council. A few bad eggs which you see on the video have used the media with lies and half truths to distort what has been happening in Roseland for years. “Hate the Snyders” is what they have been pushing, and sadly people were willing to buy it. Now, the brutality of Jack Tiller on the WNDU video is undeniable.
October 19th, 2007 at 1831
If David or Dorothy had any respect for the town of Roseland, one of the two would have stepped down as council member when they married- the right thing to do.
If David or Dorothy had any respect for the law or government then they would take seriously any interaction with law enforcement and other officials. In any one of the mug shots I have seen of either of these two they are always smiling. Maybe if they did things in the correct manner, maybe if they tried to follow the rules of government and law they would find things to be a little easier and maybe, just maybe people wouldn’t be so disgusted by them both. I don’t think that owing $100,00+ in child support is funny- especially when one of his sons has handicaps. Evidently David does and if not then he might get the point that he shouldn’t smile big and bright for everyone to see in his mug shot in the local paper. And maybe his wife Dorothy aught to expect more out of a husband, it makes you wonder about her character when you see her reaction to his unpaid child support. In my opinion he should have nothing to do with any type of government unless, until and only after he steps up takes care of his obligations and gains some respect for the wonderful town of Roseland. His father and his grandfather should be ashamed and so should his wife!
October 20th, 2007 at 1020
Welcome to RTFA, and thanks for the comments!
Based on reports I’ve read, it sounds like the town may have been mismanaged while the Snyders were a majority force on the town council. I’m not convinced that mismanagement justifies the Tiller/Snyder attack.
I have a copy of Robert’s Rules on my bookshelf, and I can personally vouch for its effectiveness at handling amazingly sensitive situations. We worked through problems involving violence, police, housing problems, food, and even social issues. This even worked in spite of people who tried to “game the system.”
I have several recommendations, one of which is to let the secretary manage the floor. The secretary does what the chair says to do, including enforcing any limitations on the floor. If there is ever a disagreement, then the secretary reviews the minutes. If your chair and secretary don’t know how to run a meeting, then they need to learn. Robert’s Rules is less than $10, new.
In the video I watched, Roseland fell apart in a political-procedural sense, and the rule of law was completely disrupted. Anarchy. Mob justice. By throwing due process out the window, at least during the video that is on the Internet, a very serious error was committed by the council.
From that point on, there isn’t a philosophical theory that can justify the actions against David Snyder. Once the rule of order was disrupted during the meeting, the town became anarchic, and the only force that could establish legitimacy in such a situation was violence.
With a soft accent, someone repeats, “let the police handle it, y’all,” while the officer is clearly taking his time in pounding Snyder’s head. The people watching the attack decide who will be witnesses to the attack; one “witness” calls out, “get him,” while Tiller is punching Snyder. One man asks David, “did you fall?” in feigned ignorance as to the cause of the attack. It’s all in the WNDU-TV video. Robert’s Rules clearly aren’t followed in Roseland.
October 20th, 2007 at 1655
I don’t think that mismanagement of the town is cause for Mr. Snyder to be attacked by Tiller. The videos do not catch every second of his removal, it stops from the door of the meeting and resumes from outside the door what happens in between? From past circumstances like when David attacked Ted Penn, it makes me wonder about what he may have done to Tiller to make him believe that he was resisting? David is certainly capable of such offenses. I could not agree more with you about the mistakes of the town and I think that no one there acts like a professional. My husband has been a victim of police brutality and I certainly do not agree with it on ANY level. Maybe if the other events of Roseland’s town tabacle received as much publicity and people were as outraged about the mismanagement of government and freedoms things never would have gotten this far, what do you think?
I think too many people are focusing on JUST the police “brutality” and not the other issues with Roseland and I don’t mean just with the Snyders.
October 21st, 2007 at 112
I never heard of Roseland until I saw the police brutality video. Of course people are focused on the police brutality, the video is disturbing.
December 2nd, 2007 at 1628
Ted Penn proved he is a liar, so who can believe his accusations against David Snyder? Guess Roseland is now Teddyville.