The City Council in Thousand Oaks is again trying to promote decorum during its twice-per-month meetings. (See story on page 9.)

Once upon a time, council meetings in Thousand Oaks were so contentious that they were sometimes called the "Tuesday Night Fights." To the credit of everyone, today's council meetings seem to have more civility than before.

There's no official truce, though, so the spark that ignites obnoxious behavior can erupt like a campfire caught in a Santa Ana wind. It soon becomes a raging inferno.

Achieving tranquility at public meetings, especially those with hotly contested issues, isn't easy. Elected officials don't always agree because they represent distinctly different constituencies.

Thousand Oaks is a diverse city. It's made up of older, established residents, relative newcomers and people in between. There are young and old, rich and poor. Our city is home to both conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats. Other residents are moderates who may or may not be members of any political party.

With diversity like that, it's folly to expect consensus on every issue.

Every council member can agree on one priority: it's their job to preserve the quality of life.

How to get there, however, is subject to conjecture, and that's where arguments take root. Even when council members agree on a common goal, they can sharply disagree on how to accomplish it.

Council members and school board trustees, for that matter, can take lessons from others. The difference between national and local politics is that experienced officeholders in Washington, D.C., know how to vehemently disagree without getting personal about it.

That's where there's room for improvement in Thousand Oaks. While council members can and should have different, sometimes diametrically opposed opinions, they must learn how to disagree respectfully.