Denise Conroy: Gunstock isn't partisan issue, it's a community issue

To The Daily Sun,

The recent actions of extremist Commissioners Peter Ness, David Strang and Doug Lambert of the Gunstock Area Commission are appalling. The commissioners knew full well that their constant harassment of Gunstock’s management team would end this way.

Human beings can only be disrespected for so long until they choose their own dignity over a paycheck. In a challenging economy, the commissioners created a hostile work environment for management through consistent harassment masked as “oversight” and a diminishment of duties. Their cavalier attitude towards Tom Day and all of the Gunstock employees is proof that these commissioners in no way represent people who work for a living.

Boards govern and advise. They don’t micromanage or reach in and operate businesses. They certainly don’t alienate management. To do so isn’t wise stewardship and oversight. It’s a recipe for disaster, especially when the board members — in this case, commissioners — don’t have the experience or skills to be business operators.

What do a litigious physician, a homophobic former radio shock jock and an ever-so-fledgling software entrepreneur know about managing a business? Based on what I saw Wednesday night, not much.

Now Belknap County taxpayers are left with a mess, proving that dabblers and ne’er do wells have no place in governance of our mountain.

We need competent elected leadership right now. Instead, the wing nuts in the county delegation give us well-worn tropes and George Soros conspiracy theories as excuses for the mess they created.

As a former Fortune 500 CMO, private equity-backed CEO and current for-profit board member with a 26-year track record, I can tell you that Commissioners Ness, Strang and Lambert are way out over their skis.

This isn’t a partisan issue. This is a fight for the soul of our beloved community.

Denise Conroy

Alton