Incompetence, Corruption, or Both?
Another week has gone by and our Selectboard chair Mr. Freitas continues his apparent desire to blow up this Town Administrator hiring process in any way he can, with Mr. Silvia’s blind and mute support.
We have a highly qualified and experienced applicant who came out on top of the Selectboard appointed screening committee ready to recruit, yet Mr. Freitas can only continue to push for his unqualified insider applicant, even after last week’s “interview”.
Mr. Freitas and Mr. Silvia have butchered this process so badly that the paid consultant doesn’t even want to work for them anymore. And two of the legitimate finalists have withdrawn their applications. Who would be surprised to learn that they want nothing to do with Mr. Freitas and Mr. Silvia?
We shouldn’t be standing by and letting this level of incompetence and corruption happen, Fairhaven. But what can we do?
I see two actions that must happen: First: increase our Selectboard from three to five members. There’s an article to be voted on at our next annual Town Meeting this June to approve this, and it needs to pass. We’ve all seen how destructive a board can be when two members are free to dictate and bully the third (and you) down the wrong path. Please attend this Town Meeting and support that article.
Second: if there is to be another Town Administrator search committee, Mr. Freitas (or any Selectboard member) should NOT be on it. There’s no better way to poison a search committee than to place Mr. Freitas on it. Let’s not let that happen again.
Phil Washko, Fairhaven
•••
Support local journalism, donate to the Neighb News with PayPal.
Click here to download the entire 3/18/21 issue: 03-18-21 CandidatesNight
