Daniel Hooberman: Controversy regarding appointment is very exaggerated

To The Daily Sun,

The recent controversy regarding the city council's appointments subcommittee is an exaggerated politicized over-response to an innocent error. If Councilors Bob Soucy and Jon Hildreth had intended to rig the selection with a political crony, they would have done so at the beginning of the process and would not have called the other candidate for the position. They considered Bruce Cheney's prior experience on the Zoning Board, along with years of experience on the city council, made him the superior candidate. Councilor Hildreth called the other candidate, so she wouldn't be blindsided by the change in their recommendation. No malice was involved. It is disappointing that this mistake has escalated into a vicious conflict complete with name-calling by audience members at city council meetings directed toward Councilors Hildreth and Soucy, social media attacks and threats, and a complete lack of decorum by Councilor Mike Conant with the mayor only inflaming the situation and failing to follow proper procedures to ensure a reasonable respectable atmosphere. It's also important to note that Mayor Mike Bordes changed the agenda at the last minute without the approval of the council on April 13, to allow members of the audience to speak about this issue prior to any other business to elevate this issue. Mayor Bordes also made an error involving the Right to Know Law. The sensible response to these issues is to ensure that all city council members receive training in the Right to Know Law, as well as training regarding proper behavior on the city council based on Robert's Rules of Order. We have too many critical issues facing our wonderful city to waste time on needless acrimony.

Daniel Hooberman

Laconia