by Matt Marquardt –
MASON CITY – According to bystander accounts, City Councilman Scott Tornquist yelled at a person at Hardee’s and told him to “go back to Osage.”
The person whom Tornquist yelled at phoned NIT’s office Tuesday morning to describe the incident. He said he wished to stay anonymous because his family owns businesses in Mason City and they fear repercussions.
“I approached Mr. Tornquist at Hardee’s, he was sitting with some other people,” the man said Tuesday.
“We exchanged words, and he asked me what district I live in,” the man said. “I told him near Osage, and he told me to go back there.”
The man, who still has family living in Mason City, was a long-time Mason City resident who grew up in town. “I’m here almost every night. We live outside Mason City now, on an acreage. I still call Mason City home.”
“I approached him,” the man said, “and wanted to ask some questions about how Mason City got in the shape it is in now. I asked ‘why do you feel the need to waste other people’s money?'”
The man said he was referring to the council’s recent one-week decision to spend $40,000 public dollars on sculptures in the cultural crescent.
“I told him, ‘Do not put the statues on the backs of the poor,'” the man said.
“Why do you feel the need to waste other people’s money?” he continued, referring to the City Council. “You guys are the lap dogs of the Chamber. You guys are the disease.”
The man said via phone today that the Mason City Council some years ago “let Target (distribution center) get away” and that city leadership really does not want Mason City to grow. “I told him that The Chamber (of Commerce) is running the City Council and has never wanted wages to get much above minimum wage because then other businesses would have to compete.”
“Where did all the graduates go, and why did they leave?” the man asked. “Every graduating class for the last 84 years has left town. Why?”
“I told Tornquist that you don’t want Mason City to grow, you are running it like dictators.”
He claimed that Tornquist said “who wants to live in a town of 100,000?”
When reached for comment regarding the brush-up, Tornquist responded with this:
“I was meeting with constituent (at his request) to discuss a number of community related matters he had on his mind. An individual that resides in Osage interrupted the meeting with my constituent to offer a number of criticisms of the Council and recent decisions, and Mason City in general. I pointed out what I believed to be a number of false assertions on his part and defended the community I am a part of. I reminded him that it is easy to complain, and challenged him to be an active part of making things better.
Must be a pretty slow news day? Surely you have better things to do with your time?”
Then later he wrote:
“I’m sure we both said things we regretted. At the conclusion of our conversation the fellow extended his hand to shake mine, and he thanked me for the exchange. That ended the issue as far as I’m concerned.”
Tornquist makes Max Weaver look like an angel!
What about all the industries that Charles City keeps getting? They now have the new Tire factory and don’t even have the workers to fill it! Mason City was not even considered for this one?Unreal…
Once again this City represenative is showing a fine example of how they run and represent our city. MASON CITY wake up it is time for a change our complete city goverment are only for themselves!
How long will we continue to argue about what happened, when none of us witnessed it?
Can’t we all just get along?
This is a matter of really poor manners on the part of the businessman from Osage and nothing more. I wouldn’t give someone with that approach the time of day, either. And this nonsense about council members not wanting high-paying jobs in Mason City is laughable. Explain the reasoning behind that to me. You can’t because there is no reason. I don’t care what anyone says, no city council would sabotage the business environment of its community by only wanting low-paying jobs. Go find some other conspiracy theory to feed your paranoia.
Wow. Got in a hurry and that was a spelling disaster. I think I was choking defending turncoat.
The statement I have heard from numerous city officials through the years is we don’t want to be another waterloo. I have no respect for turncoat but do not believe in confronting someone in anyone way other one on one and in private. This person was out of line.
Sorry MC, but you lost the Target Distribution Center to Cedar Falls fair and square. The idea that MC fights against new business is nothing but urban myth.
I don’t have any facts….but that myth sure gets repeated. There sure are a lot of Target trucks driving past Clear Lake every day!!!!
It’s far from a myth. You non-believers only need to look at Mason City’s population and job base over the last 100 years.
Also go to the Mason City Library and read Mason City’s comprehensive plans that have been adopted by the City over the last 100 years. Some of them spell out the “control of growth” in them.
More proof is the lack of meaningful job growth and wages in Mason City.
No, this is far from an urban myth. It is shamefully a fact that Mason City ushers out the bigger and better paying employers. The Target Center was purposely botched!
I’m no fan of gov’t officials. But this time, the citizen sounds like he was waaaay out of line. You don’t verbally attack someone in public then piss and moan about their reaction. You got what you gave.
And I still don’t get this part. “I live near Osage.” Then you say you live outside Mason City. Which is it?
Sounds like a trouble maker to me.
I don’t care how all this went down as much as what was said by tornquist. When you don’t have time to think up answers and have to think on your feet that is when the truth really comes out. tornquist never wants to be questioned about anything he says. I have known him for years and one thing that is true about him it is his way or the highway. Ask him about his temper sometime. He won’t talk about it because he has embarrassed him soooo many times. Ask him why he works for himself and if he told the truth is because he does not work well with other people. Go ahead ask him how many times he regretted what he said in a moment of anger. He will never tell the truth because here again he would be to embarrassed.
His statements once again back up what many new businesses have been complaining about on here. Mason City fights new business. Keep the wage payout down.
What else could you expect from Turncoat. He is a sparkling example of what our council has become. Any citizen taxpayer has the fight to questio any elected official in public. That is why they call it public office. Of course Turncoat tries to turn it around with his put on anger when it was really fear because he knew the taxpayer was correct and he really had no answer.
Fight should be right and I dropped the “n” from question. Sorry, it’s early in the morning.
I don’t see anything wrong with confronting a council person in public. People are frustrated and tired of our council doing stupid things and wasting tax payers money. They need to be confronted more often and be held accountable for their bad decisions.
YOU don’t see anything wrong with approaching a council person in public? From what I read, he was already having a meeting with an individual and he was rudely interrupted. Yes he was confronted and should not have been. Just because we have someone who will step out and try to help the community, they still should be given privacy. If someone wants a meeting, then call that individual. Anyone In their right mind wouldn’t want to be a public official. Those that think they can do a better job then please step forward and we’ll vote on it. There are Scott haters and no matter what he does, he will be critized. I can’t imagine having a discussion with someone out in public and being approached like this. Then we wonder why good people won’t run for public office. I don’t wonder, I know. Quit the sniping from the bushes.
I totally agree with you. Public people have private lives, too, and deserve to be left alone if out with others. If you want to ask questions, call their offices or write them emails. Don’t harass them in public when they are with others at a non-public event.
Meeting with a constitutent privately in a public place???? It was probably just lunch and that was Tornquists excuse.
No there’s no reason for someone to be rude, but also public officials are just what they are “public” officials. There’s nothing wrong with asking these officials questions in public and maybe the man wouldn’t have been rude if Tornquists response wouldn’t have been so off the cuff.
If the council members don’t want to be approached in public, then don’t be on the council.
And if they are having a private meeting, then have the meeting in private.
You can’t ever get a response out of the council members unless you confront them face to face. I have emailed them a number of times asking questions and the only response I get is “thanks for your input”. The only council members that have actually taken to time to answer my emails have been Kuhn and Lee.
The council has done nothing good for our community lately, it’s time they start being accountable. And if that means being approached in public, so be it.
So let me get this straight. If you got bad customer service from some local businessman, you would have no problem approaching them in a restaurant where they were sitting with someone and start demanding answers? Rude.
This is not about bad customer service from a business person. This is about a city council member, and elected official. Our council leaves a lot to be desired. They spend money foolishly on statues, remodeling city hall, pretty much whatever they want and not want the citizens care about.
Our council has the mentality that it’s all about them and not about the community or the residents in the community.
Maybe more people need to call them out on it in public. It’s time our council members start working for the community instead of working for themselves!
The guy decided to be rude, he was met with rudeness. When you abandon civility for a feeling of vindication, you end up looking like a screaming monkey. He could have handled this many other ways but decided to blindside someone in public. I personally don’t care for Mr Tournquist but I don’t think ambushing him when he is with someone in public does anything but start an argument. Children with bad manners pull crap like that. Not arguing about his questions, just his timing.
I like how he said, I am sure WE both said things we regretted. How can he speak for someone else? He should have stated I regretted. Here again it sounds better to blame someone else not just himself!!
He approached a public official in public in a confrontational manor. This is rude, in bad form, wildly inappropriate (not a word used often enough in today’s society). The title of this article could have just as easily read “Public Official Verbally Attacked at Local Business”.
You are exactly right. The OSAGE person was the one who was rude and inappropriate. People do not know their boundaries. Stay away from public figures and celebrities when they are not at public events!
If you can’t stand the heat get out of the kitchen. When tornquist tells people to go back to Osage he deserves no respect. If Anita Mischik asked him a question would he tell her to go back to clear Lake?
He did more than just ask a question.