Politics is politics and policy is policy. There were plenty of both displayed Wednesday at the Ramada Inn in Lewiston, where a meeting of "concerned citizens" about the city's governance made their discontent — and their choice of future City Council candidates — public.
Jose Leiva/Sun Journal
Norman Boulay of Lewiston signs a petition to nominate Mark Paradis as a mayoral candidate at a citizen forum held at the Ramada Conference Center in Lewiston on Wednesday.
Let's focus on the policy discussion, since this is a more pressing issue.
There's a petition circulating the city, requesting the current council refrain from hiring a new administrator until the next council is seated. There will be, at least, two new council faces next year, as the Peters brothers have said they will not seek re-election.
There are good arguments for hiring a new administrator immediately, and for waiting. On the pro-immediacy side, there is the renewal of leadership. A city the size of Lewiston needs someone to manage it, without the weakening word of "acting" or "interim" before the title.
This is no slight against the acting administrator, Phil Nadeau, but rather an assessment of the situation. With the title "acting," Nadeau is empowered to steer the ship, but not set its course. A permanent manager is needed for the latter, secure in the position of captain on deck.
The longer the city is managed in limbo, opportunities will be missed or lost because the possibility exists that indecision — given the uncertainty of leadership — will trump decisiveness. Simply put, an interim administration may find it easier to do nothing rather than make the best decisions for the city. Lewiston deserves more than that.
Waiting is a wise option, too. If there's one thing this upheaval has shown, it is that cordial, respectable and trusting relations are essential between the council and the administrator. Divisiveness impedes progress, as political and power battles become more important than the work of the public.
If this current council seats any administrator this close to the election, there is no guarantee they will be around long to oversee the new manager. Anger about the dismissal of the previous administrator, Jim Bennett, only fuels speculation about the political battles to come.
There have also been public statements by current councilors that criticize the previous council for extending Bennett's contract, thereby handcuffing their successors. But if this sitting council hires an administrator in the short term, this same criticism could be lobbed back at them.
It doesn't make sense to criticize someone, then turn around and do the same thing yourself.
So what to do? Wait. Let this council imbroglio settle itself in November. Then, the new panel should hire the best administrator for the city possible, to allow the next two years of Lewiston to be governed and managed by a group of people starting out on the same page.
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Don't assume a wealth of
Don't assume a wealth of candidates if the position is advertised before the next elections. I've consulted with a number of city/county managers; not many would even apply knowing they could be out the door with new elections.
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But Keith there may not be a need for a wealth of candidates. We KNOW that there is one, that he is qualified, and may already have an inside track to the job. The only questions are whether this was planned and if they go ahead with it.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.Quoting: "Robert61 says: Jim
Quoting:
"Robert61 says:
Jim Bennett did some good things for this city, and made some errors - I think thats something most would agree to, and in fact could be said about many town managers. Its par for the course when you take some risk. I don't think he "screwed up" Lewiston, "..........
So WHY did you instigate firing Jim ? WHY can't you come clean on this? My guess is you guys already have a new Administrator picked out and are just going through the motions of advertising for the position.
My two cents: let the new council pick the replacement.
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I believe most of this council ran two years ago because they wanted change. Now that they are implementing that change they should continue to set the course. After all they were elected for a two year term (not 1 1/2 years.) The Sun Journal in a previous editorial asked the current council what that course is? Yet, they now DON'T want them to implement this new course? The majority seem to want to continue building that new direction after the election as all (but the Peters Bros) are seeking re-election. I say we give them the benefit of the doubt. It was some of the same faces on previous councils that gave Bennett the sweet heart deal (and did it secretively.) They are the ones to blame -- yet they are running again. i.e. Mark Paradis and Renee Bernier. If anybody should be upset, they should be upset with those two.
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Good point. This editorial just opens a can of worms: Where do we draw the line for stopping actions by one council because a new one is on the way? In January do we really want to here "Well they are electing a new council in 22 months, so they should really leave that decision up to them..." Unless the city charter says that Councilors are elected for 2 years but can only serve 1 1/2, they need to carry on. If most of the councilors were elected as anti-Bennett choices anyways (as some have claimed) it seems like they got a clear mandate to find "their guy (or girl)" to run the city.
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No one is mentioning the real possibility that not only does this council plan on naming a new administrator, but they have already decided on who. Now there is no way to ascertain if this is true since Councilors Therriault and Reed have gone to extraordinary lengths to keep everything "secret", "private" or whatever word you want to use. In fact they've gone into many "executive" sessions to prevent those that oppose them from saying anything in public. Sort of a legal gag rule. However if you take the stated agendas as listed in the local tabloid, their actions since, and the few tidbits we've been able to glean from others it is NOT an unreasonable scenario. Now I realize that Councilor Reed will accuse me of wild speculation, and he is right. But it doesn't mean that I'm wrong.
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tron, you forgot to mention we plan on hiring Larry Gilbert as administrator...if you're going to make ajoke - at least have a good punchline....
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L-Town
Just hire a new city manager now... Why wait... Just don't give the new manager a sweet deal like Bennett got with the big buy out deal... The old council gave Bennett that deal in their final days in office... Robert61 we need to disagree more... I had fun when we use to argue about everything... Keep up the good work... Bennett was a bum... He screwed up both Martindale and Lewiston... What more can one man do... Obama should hire Bennett to help push through health care... With Bennett's help it will surely tank...
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Jim Bennett did some good things for this city, and made some errors - I think thats something most would agree to, and in fact could be said about many town managers. Its par for the course when you take some risk. I don't think he "screwed up" Lewiston, and I have no clue what the reference is to Martindale as I do not golf, but thats the 2nd or 3rd time I've seen it referenced here. Care to share some light?
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Look to the past, you'll find instances where sitting councils about to be out of office have in fact hired an administrator, this time around is no different, and frankly, with at least 4 current councilors running again there is no proof that the results would not be exactly the same. The ads are placed, the process has begun - if a candidate is found and agreed upon before the election he or she should be hired. To not do so would be an insult to anyone who has applied as they would now have to wait until at least late Jjanuary before one could even begin interviews as any new members of the council would ot have been sworn in yet.
As to steering the ship, you "missed the boat" in the editorial, by way of the charter the City Council sets the course, not the manager, thus the reason exactly why we are now looking for a new manager. What part of policy setting does the newspaper not understand? Don't forget, we wanted to go in a new direction!
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I'm going to ENJOY correcting you on this COUNCILOR REED. You, very simply, are WRONG.
Prior to the 1980 Charter Commission, Lewiston's form of government was a mayor/commission with a 7-member board of aldermen.
Because of rampant corruption, Lewiston changed to a PROFESSIONAL form of government. After the Charter Commission, Lewiston hired its first City Administrator, Lucian Gosselin. Mr. Gosselin served this community extraordinarily well, and as you know, continues to devote his professional expertise to the Twin Cities.
Mr. Gosselin left office after years of laudable service. A professional search was undertaken to find his replacement. THIS DID NOT HAPPEN IN A RUSH BEFORE AN ELECTION. Lewiston's second City Administrator was Bob Mulready, a man of PRINCIPLE who served this city in an exemplary fashion prior to his retirement from Lewiston after 10 years of honorable service. Mr. Mulready made sure to retire at a time of the year that would give the sitting council PLENTY of time to find his replacement. It was wintertime. So the council had an entire term to find a new Administrator.
Mr. Mulready put together the City Administrator's proposed budget to the council before he left. The sitting council made a short-term arrangement with Mr. Mulready to stay until March, to prepare the Asst. Administrator and Finance Director, not that either of those gentlemen (both considered the FINEST in the State in their professions) needed help in presenting the budget to the council that year.
The sitting city council, as soon as Mr. Mulready made his retirement known, began a search for his replacement. There was PLENTY of time. This was the beginning of the year, after all.
HOWEVER, things happen. The process took longer, because the sitting council had HIGH STANDARDS for this community and good people of Lewiston. When it became clear that a standard search, published in the usual professional periodicals and major daily papers around the country, was not good enough, eventually a search company was hired.
Because the process of choosing the BEST person for the job, NOT SOMETHING THAT CAN BE RUSHED, was taking more time then expected, the City Council President at the time made an honorbale decision. The late Mr. Frank Kelly was a FINE man of principle, a decent man, a HUMBLE man, a SMART man, (someone I dare say YOU should emulate for you might be respected more if you had some of his qualities). Frank Kelly, because he and others were not seeking re-election, INSISTED that the process include the council about to be sworn in. Mr. Kelly all but suspended the search out of respect for the people who were going to be working and managing the new Administrator.
The day after the election, Mr. Kelly involved the councilors-elect in the process. It was that new council who hired the professional search company.
There were two finalists. The person who was selected was a man by the name of Bodgon Vitas, from Appleton WI. I won't say who the other gentleman was, but he SHOULD have been hired at that time.
Mr. Vitas was a mistake. He left almost a year to the day after he was appointed, and left us in a BIG mess. He resigned on November 15th.
Once again Lewiston was without an Administrator. The sitting council still had a year-plus to their term, plenty of time to find a new Administrator. A search company was NOT used this time. A group was established consisting of the Mayor at the time, Kaileigh Tara, the sitting city council, business leaders and community members. A search was begun, using all the major industry publications, online, major dailies, and personal outreach.
But this was a group that wanted the BEST for the people they represented, and that is nothing less then what the citizens of Lewiston deserve! Despite the fact that the search was begun some NINE MONTHS earlier, by August the council and the selection committee KNEW it HAD TO DO THE RIGHT THING with an election on the horizon.
The Council President at that time, someone who worked with Mr. Kelly for many years, took a page from his book, not that such a move was even necessary, because it was the consensus of the Mayor, the entire council and the selection committee that the NEW council be involved. The process paused for the election. The DAY - yes the VERY DAY - after the election, the councilors-elect were brought into the process.
There was a turnover of 4 councilors that year, plus a new Mayor. All involved DID THE RIGHT THING, insuring a clean and thorough process that respected the people about to take over the leadership of the city, and respected the person about to hired as the new City Administrator.
SO... Now that you have the ENTIRE HISTORY of City Administrators in Lewiston, you can see how VERY WRONG you are in your flip and blanket off-hand assumptions of the actions of prior councils.
One interesting tid-bit worth mentioning... A community member involved in the process of hiring Mr. Vitas, one Larry Gilbert... Yes. LARRY GILBERT. He was a good one for insisting on TRANSPARANCY in local government. The interesting fact I'm about to reveal...
It was Larry Gilbert who ranted and raved, prior to the special election that put him in office, to the sitting council that ALL APPOINTMENTS STOP AND WAIT FOR HIS ELECTION TO BE DECIDED.
I find it interesting that King Larry now wants things to go "the other way" - LESS transparent. Rushed. NOT respecting that it is the August before a municipal election and the selection for a new administrator should wait until AFTER those councilors-elect can be involved in the process.
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I stand corrected. I was told by someone within the city that in fact twice an administrator had been hired by a council about to be done, but not wishing to hold up the process. I still stand by my statement that the sitting council should make the decision, but we should have a citizens committee and in fact I'd be willing to let my opponent be the choice from Ward 7 so they can also have a glimpse. Given what you write there is a strong chance that it will taske longer to find someone for lewiston and if thats the case, all bets are off - but if we can find someone then why wait?
Its tough to be transparent in the hiring process - as you saw in Auburn a couple years ago, most towns and the applicants wish to remain anonymous until a later point in the process. We do however know of at least one candidate and I understand other resumes are coming in.
Its my job as a councilor to hire an administrator - I don't take that lightly, nor will I be bullied into waiting, given the good chance I will be re-elected as will at least 3 other councilors.
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Robert61 - You demand facts and lob verbal stink bombs when you feel someone has misrepresented what you perceive to be "the facts". Nice attempt with the age old copout of, "I was told by someone". Nice. Ladies and Gentlemen, the double-standard !
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Mr. Reed, I respectfully submit that you are NOT being bullied.
What you are witnessing is civics in action. This is what an engaged populace does when they are displeased with a course of action their elected representatives have taken. Civically-minded people let their opinions and voices be heard, in any and every way available to them.
They gather signatures. They write letters to the newspaper. They speak to their friends, their neighbors, the waitress serving them breakfast and pouring their coffee. They call their representatives. They attend meetings. In short, if you are the representative with whom they are unhappy, they will loudly and without care of your feelings, roast you if they can.
That is simply the nature of public service.
It is not bullying. It's the way things are. And thank god for it.
This is the United States of America. It is not only permitted to assemble and rail away at your elected officials, it is expected!
People have died for that right. My father, who was gut-shot in Viet Nam, bled for my right to attend that meeting Wednesday night. My grand father, who was caught behind enemy lines in a cave on Iwo Jima for 3 days, guaranteed my right to attend a meeting, and express my opinion here, and yes, EVEN BULLY YOU if I so desire. If annoying you in print, in person at a council meeting, on the street, or wherever and however I choose is now, in this country, considered bullying... then so be it.
But that is not really bullying. In truth, it is civics in action. It is what you signed up for. Welcome to the fray.
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Smiling,
You give greate xamples of writing letters signing petitions and the like, but the example is iunfit for this discussion as all those cases require the letter writer to give their true name and location, whereas you hide in shame.
Anytime people can hide behind the cloak of supposed invisibility and make comments and accusatons that in some cases even they know not to be true or at least questionable, its bullying. Sorry you don't like my definition, but its bullying. Why not give your real name instead of hiding behind M. Bennett's initials. By the way my grandfather also served in WW2, as a paratrooper, he was shot in the stomach while parachuting onto an island in the South Pacific. We all have friends and relatives who have made sacrifices for this country. Other family members served but the information is too personal for me to share as they still struggle with life.
So hide behind your witty little name and be nothing more than the Wizard of Oz, and perhaps some day the curtain you hide behind will be removed. A real American would be proud of who they are and have the strenght to stand by their convictions by signing their real name. Heck even tron does that.
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Looks who's talking. Some nerve, criticizing someones anonymity while you and Councilor Therriault have done nothing but hide your actions. First you deny consulting BEFORE the meeting about Mr. Bennett, then you go into executive session to hide ANY information about the meeting, and from what he said Mr. Bennett would have preferred to have it opened, so don't use the personal excuse. Then you go give your reasons to the local tabloid, insuring no questioning which might reveal something important. Since then you've had nothing but "secret" or "private" or whatever you call it discussions, leaving the public in the dark about what's going on. You guys have invented methods to keep things secret so don't criticize others for using the only vehicle available to them.
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Sorry tron, I've done nothing secretive, in fact other than the meeting with Mr. Nadeau and Mr. Theriault to negotiate a contract as Acting Adiministrator per the wishes of the majority of the council, and the last finance committee meeting, I have not even seen Mr. Theriault, let alone had a secret meeting.
So now I suppose you will accuse me of secretly giving Mr. Nadeua some great deal right? At my request the city HR Director was present for that entire meeting/negotiation and was very helpful. When the council brings the contract for a public vote, you'll see exactly what I saw and requested. Just another smoking gun with invisible bullets right?
"insuring no questioning" well, I'm sure others here would pint out is ensuring, not insuring but inf act that newspaper asked ALL councilors if they would like to do an interview and I accpeted. The rules were simple - Mr. Steele could ask anythignhe wished as long as it did not require us to break Executive Privelege in regards to those meetings. I do understand why people see too many of these meetings as questionable, but I have yet to ask for one - each was asked for by City Administration, The City Council President or the Mayor. Are you implying that one of them (or more) had some hidden agenda?
I do hope that if a new charter is to be that someone would perhaps find a way that an impartial designated person could be in these Executive Sessions to verify what occurred and that the only thing discussed was what was in the motion, but then the conspiracy nuts would just say the person was a plant or worked for us, so what good would that do. I guess our only option is no more executive sessions, do everything in public and if that means negotiations with businesses and employees is out for all to see so be it. If it means everyone knows what land the city is acquiring and why they want it , so be it. I'm sure it will cost the taxpayers a bit more when other bidders learn fo the city's interests. Heck even surrounding communities would then know who's coming to town and be able to negotiate a better deal, because they would know exactly what we are offering or what is being fofered to us. Next, lets start union negotiations in public, make sure both sides are on tv arguing their side and then there are no secrets, everyone can see for themselves what occurs.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond....ensure may imply a
...ensure may imply a virtual guarantee , while insure sometimes stresses the taking of necessary measures beforehand...
You guys went to the extreme right wing tabloid to INSURE no piercing or investigative questions would be asked. But hey, have it your way.
Now, "Mr. Nadeua ", "Privelege", "fofered" were words you used in your reply. Are you really the one to question my vocabulary?
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...
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.Smiling, You give greate
Smiling,
You give greate xamples of writing letters signing petitions and the like, but the example is iunfit for this discussion as all those cases require the letter writer to give their true name and location, whereas you hide in shame.
Anytime people can hide behind the cloak of supposed invisibility and make comments and accusatons that in some cases even they know not to be true or at least questionable, its bullying. Sorry you don't like my definition, but its bullying. Why not give your real name instead of hiding behind M. Bennett's initials. By the way my grandfather also served in WW2, as a paratrooper, he was shot in the stomach while parachuting onto an island in the South Pacific. We all have friends and relatives who have made sacrifices for this country. Other family members served but the information is too personal for me to share as they still struggle with life.
So hide behind your witty little name and be nothing more than the Wizard of Oz, and perhaps some day the curtain you hide behind will be removed. A real American would be proud of who they are and have the strenght to stand by their convictions by signing their real name. Heck even tron does that.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.Loosely translated: "It's
Loosely translated: "It's our way, or the Highway."
Whether the Administrator is hired before or after the election, he/she will march to that drum.
And the drum roll's already started.........
So "You report, we decide"
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When I was a young Sailor - I drank like a Sailor, fought like a Sailor, and screwed like a Sailor. Now that I am old and wise - I have a few scars, but many fond memories.
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I SAY WAIT TILL THE PEOPLE VOTE NEW COUNCIL MEMBERS
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To wait until the new Council is elected and seated seems like a logical and prudent course to follow in these stormy waters!
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