Most local government conflicts don't start with a policy disagreement. (They start with a conversation that never happened.) I watched this in the NC Senate. A council member gets wind of a decision after it's already been made. They feel sidelined. The next meeting, they raise objections that look like obstruction but are actually about respect. The conflict gets labeled "personality clash." That's the wrong diagnosis. ➟ The issue was process exclusion, not bad policy ➟ The