Letters - Jan. 20, 2011

System worked

In the January 13th edition of this paper there appeared an article on the Lamont Town Council’s selection of a new mayor and council member.

In that article were any number of unfounded comments from local residents about the process itself and that somehow unfair hurdles or barriers were being placed in front of various candidates.

In fact, the Council cast a broad net to include as many potential candidates as possible and even extended the time frame for consideration to allow various individuals to have an appropriate period to reflect upon this important decision.

When it came time for the actual vote, there were at least two candidates for mayor and the council position, which is somewhat of a rarity for Lamont, historically speaking.

In fact, a formal motion was indeed made for the candidate who was not ultimately selected, but of the 4 remaining council members, there was not a single ‘second to that motion’ (for either position - he applied for both mayor and the council on the same night) so thus there was no vote on that particular motion.

That is how the American system works, and rightly so.

There were no unfair hurdles involved in the process, as claimed - just the opposite.

All the candidates were treated exactly the same, based on the rules and procedures and practices Lamont has maintained for 100 years.

The process worked according to the rule and practice of law - and because the ultimate outcome might not have been to someone’s liking, however unfortunate or hurtful that may be, claims of procedural discrimination are unfounded and quite unfortunate.

The successful candidates for mayor and the open council position received motions for acceptance from a sitting council member, those motions did in fact receive ‘seconds’ from a sitting council member, and a majority of the Council voted to approve them.

That is proof that our system worked as designed and intended.

To do otherwise for any individual would have been, in fact, lowering the bar, not raising it, as was so unfairly claimed.

Our wonderful system of government worked as intended, regardless of the individuals or personalities involved, and that is something to appreciate and cherish - not criticize, undermine and diminish because the end result was not to one’s liking.

Ruth Simpson,

Lamont town council