Patrick Hynes: Wait and let new mayor, council decide on Human Relations Committee

To The Daily Sun,

To my mind, there has always been a whiff of illegitimacy surrounding the shadowy Human Relations Committee. It’s a “mayor’s committee,” meaning it’s not a permanent part of city government; the city has functioned perfectly well without it in the past and could easily do so in the future. Moreover, it remains unclear who, exactly, this group is accountable to.

News that the lame-duck mayor and city council are attempting to make this committee permanent, and remove it from the mayor’s discretion, before the newly elected mayor and council take office is deeply concerning. To complicate matters further, the current mayor, though a dedicated public servant, is serving only in an interim capacity and was never elected to that office.

This premature effort to cement a controversial committee into city government creates the unmistakable impression of political gamesmanship. It also casts the HRC as a quasi-official body more focused on preserving itself than on delivering any meaningful service to the public.

If supporters of the HRC believe it should become permanent and independent of the mayor’s discretion, they should make their case openly — after the newly elected mayor and council are sworn in. Let them present a cogent argument to the public about the committee’s goals, operations, and measurable value.

The attempt to push this through now is simply sneaky and manipulative.

Patrick Hynes

Laconia