We put a lot of trust in our elected officials to do the right thing and represent us with our best interests at heart. We entrust to them decisions that affect our quality of life and we hope they perform their responsibilities in a fair and ethical way.
If someone that works for the town acts unethically, there should be a way to report it. There is such a way in Chester, but it’s flawed. If someone submits an ethics complaint to the town, the town board is first to see it and they decide if it should be sent to the ethics board for further investigation.
This is ridiculous. What if the complaint is about a town board member? Or someone they know personally? There are many scenarios where you can imagine conflicts of interest and possible retaliation. Brandon Holdridge tried to change that with an amendment to the code, but Bob Valentine fought strongly against it. Why? What does the supervisor have to hide? Councilman Holdridge tried to make the process fairer and Mr. Valentine stood for a process that allows for possible corruption. That’s why I’m voting for Brandon to be our next town supervisor.
Mary Braun
Chester