3/5/11
Monday night (2/28) on a 4 to 1 vote, Shorewood's Council appointed three Park Commissioners to fill one vacant seat and two seats which were at the end of their three-year terms. Two residents new to the Commission were appointed along with Steve Quinlan whose Commission term was expiring.
Jeremy Norman who has been the Chair of the Commission was not reappointed despite the fact that he applied and interviewed for the reappointment. There was no discussion in the Council Meeting about why Mr. Norman should not be reappointed nor, why the two new candidates were more qualified than Mr. Norman.
Dick Woodruff, the lone dissenting vote, told the Insider that he voted no because he disagreed with not reappointing Mr. Norman. Since the motion had all three Commission appointments together, Mr. Woodruff said he had no choice but to vote no even though he may have thought some of the other appointments were good ones.
The Insider knows that Mr. Norman had Mr. Woodruff's sign for Mayor in his yard during the last election. So, is "firing" Mr. Norman Mayor Lizee's way of payback for Mr. Norman's support of Lizee's opponent?
Happy Reading!
The Insider
So, Mr. Norman was not re-appointed ... disappointing to hear as he's served the city well, not only as chair of the park commission, but co-chair of Shorewood's Arctic Fever event -- which just celebrated its 5th year.
ReplyDeleteGuess the amount of energy and dedication you bring to a commission doesn't count, because as Councilor Zerby has stated ... (April 12, 2010 minutes) "in all actuality, the appointment is to serve at the whim of the Council".
Councilor Zerby also said ... "the Council is a political body, and if their [commissioners] views don't align, they can move on ..." (LMCC webstream)
Obviously Mr. Norman didn't feel his political views weren't in alignment since he re-applied for the position --
So the question is ... are you willing to volunteer your time and energy in the spirit of giving back to the community knowing you really just "serve at the whim of the Council"?
Residents ... What say you?
Do we really need this behavior from the "leaders" in a town this size? Or anywhere on the planet for that matter? There is enough divisiveness.
ReplyDeleteAdvice to council: embrace those who differ with you, find common ground, get things done.
AND...don't lure your volunteers in and then tell them they don't matter. Geeez.