Someone else here said the show's writers wrote from the heart, not by the book (to paraphrase Barney), and I've said before, this was a sitcom, not a civics lesson, so there are a lot of unanswered questions concerning governmental matters in the township/county of Mayberry. I submit that perhaps Mayberry County had an early form of what we would now call a metro form of government--one body making decisions for the entire county, no separate city council/county commission, etc. (Mayberry ahead of its time?) If Andy and Barney worked for the county, they'd report to the county commission, not the mayor or council (which they'd do if they were a police chief and patrolman). But in a metro government they'd report to one board and there might even be a mayor that serves all or most of the municipality. *** If Andy and Barney are county employees why do they have to submit all reports etc to the town Mayor?*** Perhaps partly due to the metro government setup, and perhaps because the mayor was always threatening to cut funding to the sheriff's department. Clearly the mayor can't "fire" Andy, only the voters can. The mayor seems to think differently but then again his political tone deafness is a big part of his character. I can't imagine Mayor Stoner ever getting re-elected. The mayor was also always threatening to "tell on Andy" to the governor, so that's why I think it was all about funding. Clearly the writers wanted an antagonist for Andy and that's why prickly Mayor Stoner showed up. But that's not easy when Andy himself is really the boss and the viewers know it.
***Why does Mayor Stoner get to decide if the town band can go to Raleigh? Shouldn't the council vote on that?*** There are some decisions that can be made solely by the mayor. Maybe the band went previously due to a discretionary fund allocated by the mayor and this time he said no. ***How can Sam Jones be head of the town council when he lives outside the city limits?*** Again, same reason as Andy taking Barney's resignation to the town council...Mayberry (possibly) had a metro form of government. Of course calling it the "town council" doesn't make a lot of sense but maybe that's more out of tradition. ***How do Mayors Stoner and Pike get by with all those impromptu meetings without following open meeting rules?*** Because no one ever called them on it, and that would've made a great episode. (Gomer once made a "citizen's arrest" so he'd be a great candidate to make a complaint.) But the show never was that big on such social commentary. ***Why do Andy and Barney get to vote on council matters, like selling the canyon? Doubt if they are actual members of the council.*** The biggest unresolved issue of the whole list, I would think. Most likely a dramatic device showing Andy and Barney reluctantly coming on board, but it makes no sense in the plot. ****If Andy is Sheriff of the county of Mayberry why does he do all his sheriffing in and around Mayberry only? Aren't there other towns in the County of Mayberry?*** We never heard if Mayberry County had any other towns in it. And we do see quite a few scenes with Andy or Barney taking their squad car way out into the country, as a real life sheriff in the South most likely would. A moonshiner firing shots at people to keep them away from his yard, probably wouldn't have done that two blocks from downtown Mayberry. ***When Barney decided to run for Sheriff, he hadn't filed papers yet. If he still had time to file his papers, why couldn't Andy have time to file his?*** As I recall Barney filed his papers at the last minute, then the deadline, then Andy found out he didn't get the job. Andy was perhaps foolish for not filing papers, he could always withdraw later. Yes, I admit some of these are a stretch but like I said, the writers weren't trying to write civics lessons. Dixon _______________________________________________ WBMUTBB mailing list [email protected] http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
