EDITOR:

There was a dust-up at city council over the last few months, when a citizen requested a seat on a city committee but was not chosen. I do not wish to disclose or discuss the applicant’s gender, so I will not use words such as, “he/she,” “him/her,” etc. I will refer to the citizen as “X.” X made an application for a seat on a city committee.

The mayor has the duty to make appointments to city committees. He did not choose X. X submitted the same application three or four more times. The mayor did not choose X. X brought family and friends to a city council meeting. X’s family and friends testified that X is simply the best, better than all the rest.

The mayor chose a different citizen to fill the committee vacancy. One of X’s friends, a retired attorney, publicly accused the mayor of having a “conspiracy” against X. I personally believe that there is no such conspiracy. X then made a dramatic video, sobbing and dripping tears, lamenting not being chosen. X posted that emotional video to Facebook. I think that the Facebook posting vindicates the mayor’s decision. That act does not show the type of maturity that we should hope for in a city committee member. In the video, X thanked two named council members for support. In the months that this conflict has been going on, I never heard one word of support for X from these council members, spoken to me, to any other council member, or to any city official. It seems that X, and X’s family and friends, believe that by virtue of applying for a seat on a city committee, X is owed that seat, X owns that seat. This is not true. The mayor holds the authority to appoint city committee members and is allowed the discretion to choose whom to appoint.

Ralph B. Blasier

Escanaba