Deputy Mayor explains changes at City Hall.

[CousinEddie]

The Pattaya Expat Club held their meeting last Sunday and invited the honorable Deputy Mayor to explain the reorganization & changes at Pattaya City Hall.

Fast Forward to 3:30 to the start of interview.

https://youtu.be/_R3WMSfyqm0

Edited April 10, 2016 by CousinEddie

[WitawatWatawit]

10.35 minutes to tell us there is an election for Pattaya council in June, and that staff of City Hall will be moving to a building opposite Boonthavorn on Sukhumvit. That's it.

Sorry, but that was painful to watch for so little information.

[CousinEddie]

10.35 minutes to tell us there is an election for Pattaya council in June, and that staff of City Hall will be moving to a building opposite Boonthavorn on Sukhumvit. That's it.

Sorry, but that was painful to watch for so little information.

I think he said no elections. There will be appointments.

Edited April 10, 2016 by CousinEddie

[TheCruncher]

10.35 minutes to tell us there is an election for Pattaya council in June, and that staff of City Hall will be moving to a building opposite Boonthavorn on Sukhumvit. That's it.

Sorry, but that was painful to watch for so little information.

I think he said no elections. There will be appointments.

Will the appointees all wear camouflage gear?

[WitawatWatawit]

CousinEddie, look at the vid again. Election after the 16 June when the current administration finishes it's term - the election for a new council must be held within 45 days. Then he mentions the interim administration. OK?

Edited April 10, 2016 by WitawatWatawit

[patsfangr]

First, thank you for the effort to present some meaningful information to all of us expats. I'm afraid, however, that I have to rate it as very poorly done.

First of all, why 2 and a half minutes of useless introductory music and video? Total waste of our time, folks!

Second, as noted earlier by Witawatwatawit, there was very little information presented in the remaining 8 minutes. If not for Barry Upton interrupting with some "guiding questions", we would have been left still wondering what was said.

This entire thing could have, and should have been done in a video about 2 minutes long. The questions from Barry should have been better prepared in advance to simply get to the meat of the content.

I do hope that such presentations to present important information about the goings on in Pattaya's government will continue. But I hope you'll do a much better job of preparing the Q&A to get to the point more quickly and thoroughly.

Here's a suggestion for your next effort. Have someone come on to explain the decision making process for the tunnel. Why was it decided to build a tunnel, rather than a simple overpass; which would appear to be a cheaper and more quickly completed answer to the problem of congestion? And, as a follow on, why was it decided to tear up so much of the east side of Sukhumvit with simultaneous road work during the tunnel construction, further exacerbating the traffic problem?

Can we get some Pattaya politicians to address those questions, which truly do have a significant affect on the lives of all of us living in Pattaya? We might not get straight answers to those questions; but it would certainly be nice to have them addressed in some manner.

[CousinEddie]

"CousinEddie, look at the vid again. Election after the 16 June when the current administration finishes it's term - the election for a new council must be held within 45 days. Then he mentions the interim administration. OK?"

I'm not so sure after watching that 3 times.

When a Thai goes into the double talk routine, you can almost always be sure the "circumstances not normal."

Edited April 10, 2016 by CousinEddie

[patsfangr]

The questions that went unasked and unanswered is: WHY are the mayor and deputy mayor moving out of City Hall to another building? What changes about their daily duties and authority?

[TheCruncher]

The questions that went unasked and unanswered is: WHY are the mayor and deputy mayor moving out of City Hall to another building? What changes about their daily duties and authority?

I heard some time ago already that the mayor had moved out of City hall, but it was to a different building from the one mentioned in the OP.

Anyone lately seen the mayor at any public event?

[WitawatWatawit]

I wandered around City Hall several months ago - it looked like they were packing everything up to move out to allow for renovations (I guess). But I don't recall reading anything about it anywhere. Perhaps our sleuths who have been posting gibberish this morning can put their efforts to better use and find out for us (I'm indisposed for the next couple of days so can't help, but will check it out on Wed if no one has any other info by then).

Interesting about the mayor. Interesting. I've also noticed his absence of late. But speculation is not allowed.

[WitawatWatawit]

"CousinEddie, look at the vid again. Election after the 16 June when the current administration finishes it's term - the election for a new council must be held within 45 days. Then he mentions the interim administration. OK?"

I'm not so sure after watching that 3 times.

When a Thai goes into the double talk routine, you can almost always be sure the "circumstances not normal."

Come on - I know it was hard to listen to, but his words were very clear and his (limited) information precise. Sorry mate, but would you please stop confusing people? The council ends its term on 16 June. Within 45 days an election is required by law. In the interim, certain people are appointed to run or oversee the council's administration (normal procedure). That's it. The other info is an apparent move by council staff to a building opposite Boonthavorn on Sukhumvit - Upton failed to elicit more info on that, which is probably just as well as the vid might have extended into next week.

[CousinEddie]

You must be a cunning linguist if you can decipher that gobbledygook.

"If we talk about normal circumstances the term is legally up June 16, and there will be elections in 45 days in normal circumstances."

Then Barry reminds him that circumstances aren't normal here.

"Thats right, right now we are not normal circumstances" he says.

"The mayor and staff will move down the road and continue their work" (very strange, foreigners can stop in for coffee, nice)

"The new council will be honorable people appointed by a selection committee" (for 45 days?)

I guess my question is, why don't they have elections 45 days before June 16th?

Edited April 10, 2016 by CousinEddie

[patsfangr]

You must be a cunning linguist if you can decipher that gobbledygook.

"If we talk about normal circumstances the term is legally up June 16, and there will be elections in 45 days in normal circumstances."

Then Barry reminds him that circumstances aren't normal here.

"Thats right, right now we are not normal circumstances" he says.

"The mayor and staff will move down the road and continue their work" (very strange, foreigners can stop in for coffee, nice)

"The new council will be honorable people appointed by a selection committee" (for 45 days?)

I guess my question is, why don't they have elections 45 days before June 16th?

An excellent question, CousinEddie! I don't know if it's still the case with a driver's license; but the last time I renewed mine, I went the day before the expiration date. They told me that I couldn't get a new one until AFTER the old one expired. Which means that I'd have to drive with an expired license to get to the Motor Vehicle building!

Neither of these situations, the government change, or the driver's license renewal, make a damn bit of sense. In the case of the government change, the amount of activity and confusion is clearly unnecessary and disruptive during that 45 day period. I'd love to hear a politician explain the reason why they don't hold elections 45 days before the end of term for the current officials. There is a transition period between election and swearing in for every office from city council to President in the USA. I don't know about England, but I assume it's the same there. It's just common sense.

[CousinEddie]

Here is the Pattaya People & Pattaya Expat Club invitation to the event.

PATTAYA PEOPLE MEDIA GROUP:
Would you like to know the truth ? WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH CITY HALL
So many people are gossiping about the Pattaya Mayor and the City Hall. House arrest ? Dismissal of City Council ? So many stories !

Come to PATTAYA EXPATS CLUB meeting and listen to the detailed truthful information about all the matters related to the Pattaya City Administration http://www.pattayaexpatsclub.info

[CousinEddie]

The last election for Pattaya Mayor in 2012, occurred the weekend of June 15.

"Circumstances not normal."

[Seizetheday]

First, thank you for the effort to present some meaningful information to all of us expats. I'm afraid, however, that I have to rate it as very poorly done.

First of all, why 2 and a half minutes of useless introductory music and video? Total waste of our time, folks!

Second, as noted earlier by Witawatwatawit, there was very little information presented in the remaining 8 minutes. If not for Barry Upton interrupting with some "guiding questions", we would have been left still wondering what was said.

This entire thing could have, and should have been done in a video about 2 minutes long. The questions from Barry should have been better prepared in advance to simply get to the meat of the content.

I do hope that such presentations to present important information about the goings on in Pattaya's government will continue. But I hope you'll do a much better job of preparing the Q&A to get to the point more quickly and thoroughly.

Here's a suggestion for your next effort. Have someone come on to explain the decision making process for the tunnel. Why was it decided to build a tunnel, rather than a simple overpass; which would appear to be a cheaper and more quickly completed answer to the problem of congestion? And, as a follow on, why was it decided to tear up so much of the east side of Sukhumvit with simultaneous road work during the tunnel construction, further exacerbating the traffic problem?

Can we get some Pattaya politicians to address those questions, which truly do have a significant affect on the lives of all of us living in Pattaya? We might not get straight answers to those questions; but it would certainly be nice to have them addressed in some manner.

I believe more snouts in the trough for the tunnel.

[patsfangr]

First, thank you for the effort to present some meaningful information to all of us expats. I'm afraid, however, that I have to rate it as very poorly done.

First of all, why 2 and a half minutes of useless introductory music and video? Total waste of our time, folks!

Second, as noted earlier by Witawatwatawit, there was very little information presented in the remaining 8 minutes. If not for Barry Upton interrupting with some "guiding questions", we would have been left still wondering what was said.

This entire thing could have, and should have been done in a video about 2 minutes long. The questions from Barry should have been better prepared in advance to simply get to the meat of the content.

I do hope that such presentations to present important information about the goings on in Pattaya's government will continue. But I hope you'll do a much better job of preparing the Q&A to get to the point more quickly and thoroughly.

Here's a suggestion for your next effort. Have someone come on to explain the decision making process for the tunnel. Why was it decided to build a tunnel, rather than a simple overpass; which would appear to be a cheaper and more quickly completed answer to the problem of congestion? And, as a follow on, why was it decided to tear up so much of the east side of Sukhumvit with simultaneous road work during the tunnel construction, further exacerbating the traffic problem?

Can we get some Pattaya politicians to address those questions, which truly do have a significant affect on the lives of all of us living in Pattaya? We might not get straight answers to those questions; but it would certainly be nice to have them addressed in some manner.

I believe more snouts in the trough for the tunnel.

LOL! True. But we'll never see or hear that from any Pattaya politician.

[Pattaya28]

So realistically what have we learned ?

Absolutely "Nothing".

So many questions could have been asked.

But then again, asking questions would have put the deputy in an uncomfortable position.

Maybe he did the interview on the basis of no "real" questions.

[CousinEddie]

There are 2 expat clubs discussing this.

Here is another very poorly produced video from the other Pattaya "City" Expat Club:

https://youtu.be/GPHUuRlANLk

"After the Mayor steps down, the new committee has 15 days to choose a new city council. July 1 they will announce the new city council"

"The former mayor, secretary and city council have leased a building and have formed 'We Love Pattaya team'."

[CousinEddie]

Another delicately worded and double talked interview.

https://youtu.be/KAvuPJ1T8JE

The Honorable Secretary does briefly mention the NCPO is coming to town....but then he realized he 'stepped in it' and tried to walk it back.

The interviewer is walking on eggshells too, but clever & manages to get the message across. "We've tended to have elections but now the system is changing, of course we have a different sort of Government at the moment and they are bringing Bangkok and Pattaya into alignment."

The former city council has formed the "We Love Pattaya Team" and will still be meeting with their friends at the 42 different public agencies....

Love the interviewers comment at 4:15 LOL!

I like this guy.

Edited April 10, 2016 by CousinEddie

[TheCruncher]

So realistically what have we learned ?

Absolutely "Nothing".

So many questions could have been asked.

But then again, asking questions would have put the deputy in an uncomfortable position.

Maybe he did the interview on the basis of no "real" questions.

The below line in CousinEddy's post has learned me a lot.

"The former mayor, secretary and city council have leased a building and have formed 'We Love Pattaya team'."

It has learned me, that the building on Sukhumvit isn't a temporary City hall, but will function as an administration in exile.

I also learned from the post that the rumors that have been going for a few weeks already are actually facts.

NCPO takes over Pattaya city administration. Take note that the placed their man at Pattaya police station recently also.

[patsfangr]

It seemed to me that he said that the mayor of Pattaya has never had the power to appoint city officials (Chief of Police, etc.) Is that what everybody else got out of this? Or do you think he was just talking about how things are, and will be, under the NCPO?

[CousinEddie]

So realistically what have we learned ?

Absolutely "Nothing".

So many questions could have been asked.

But then again, asking questions would have put the deputy in an uncomfortable position.

Maybe he did the interview on the basis of no "real" questions.

The below line in CousinEddy's post has learned me a lot.

"The former mayor, secretary and city council have leased a building and have formed 'We Love Pattaya team'."

It has learned me, that the building on Sukhumvit isn't a temporary City hall, but will function as an administration in exile.

I also learned from the post that the rumors that have been going for a few weeks already are actually facts.

NCPO takes over Pattaya city administration. Take note that the placed their man at Pattaya police station recently also.

The, We Love Pattaya Team, will be operating in an "honorary position...unpaid" the interviewer says.

That is pretty altruistic of the honorable staff at city hall. After all, they have initiated many infrastructure projects and have complicated relationships with the various associations and agencies thru-out Pattaya and I'm sure they feel obligated to keep in touch.

[WitawatWatawit]

Here is the Pattaya People & Pattaya Expat Club invitation to the event.

PATTAYA PEOPLE MEDIA GROUP:

Would you like to know the truth ? WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH CITY HALL

So many people are gossiping about the Pattaya Mayor and the City Hall. House arrest ? Dismissal of City Council ? So many stories !

Come to PATTAYA EXPATS CLUB meeting and listen to the detailed truthful information about all the matters related to the Pattaya City Administration http://www.pattayaexpatsclub.info

You were given some answers, but do you feel you were told the truth? Was any of the gossip cleared up, especially about house arrests?

[moonseeker]

MS>

[CousinEddie]

I ran the interviews thru the Enignma Machine Emulator, Captain. Message deciphered:

'Stand by City Hall. Lower your shields and surrender. You will be assimilated into the collective. You will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile.'

[Rimmer]

A post has been removed, our news sources will report something when it happens not usually before it happens

A couple of posts quoting from a forbidden news source have also been removed

[WitawatWatawit]

I stand corrected and apologize for any misunderstanding. According to one website quoting Giles Ungpakorn, the first action taken under Section 44 was to cancel all local administrative body elections. I guess I've let that one slip by me.

But, in their efforts to make it seem as though they retain some of their influence and legitimacy, these (ex)burgers of Pattaya are deliberately obfuscating the issue with double-talk about the impending (non)election, and trumpeting their move to new quarters as a legitimate issue. Confused? Yep.

In the absence of any reporting from the established media, it seems the NCPO is coming to take over Pattaya City Hall. The local newspapers online -- Pattaya One, Pattaya Today, Pattaya Mail, Pattaya Daily News and Pattaya People -- also do not seem to be covering this significant event.

There could be interesting times ahead.

Edited April 14, 2016 by WitawatWatawit

[Jiu-Jitsu]

Covered some time ago here: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/NCPO-grabs-local-admin-powers-30238704.html

[WitawatWatawit]

Covered some time ago here: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/NCPO-grabs-local-admin-powers-30238704.html

Thanks for that. The decision was made almost 2 years ago - but there's been little publicity since - perhaps we've been caught up in the shambles that is MR Sukhumbhand and the Democrats. I don't recall any of the coverage of recent times mentioning Bangkok City Hall being taken over by bureaucrats. It's all about who will replace Sukhumbhand as governor and why the Democrats are filthy on him.

Pattaya is a different story - the major influence is .... well, we all know who that is. BTW, where is the insipid one of late? He seems to be avoiding photo ops.