Public health

City Council President Marty Bender, who will be at Tuesday's meeting following his release from the hospital, wants to pick and choose the effects of being a public official:

Bender, who was hospitalized in intensive care after becoming ill Oct. 13, said he returned home Wednesday. Although he's not sure what caused the illness, Bender said doctors believe it may have been a reaction to a flu shot.

Bender expressed frustration over media accounts that portrayed his condition as grave. He also said the ordeal was difficult on his family, who earlier issued a statement asking for privacy during Bender's recuperation.

“What is this fascination (with my health)?” Bender asked.

The "fascination" is that the president of the City Council is important in the overall functioning of local government, so the citizens who are affected by that government want to know who is and is not going to be there, and why. The minute public officials take their oaths, the level of scrutiny they get goes up and the privacy they'r entitled to goes down.And being in intensive care is grave, for goodness sake.