The following appeared in today’s West County Times in “The Eye on East Bay” Column:

Councilwoman says it with Flowers

A colorful new tactic in the popular art of political bickering blossomed last week in Richmond.

After two weeks of political acrimony over City policy, Councilwoman Maria Viramontes came up with a flowery response to comments her council colleague Tom Butt wrote in his widely read e-mail forum.

She headed directly to the park Florist flower shop and began selecting flower arrangements … well … funeral arrangements to be exact.

When Butt walked into a shared council office at City Hall on Tuesday, the room was covered with a wreath and potted red roses, geraniums and birds of paradise. Each arrangement was festooned with quotes from iconic women, such as Helen Keller, Dr. Judith Orloff and Eleanor Roosevelt.

Impressed with the display, Butt brought several people to his office to show them the scented rejoinder. A befuddled Times reported scratched his head. “What’s the message here,” he asked. “Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes?”

Butt shrugged. “I don’t know,” he drawled, “but I like flowers. I’ve gotten a lot worse.