Breach of Public Trust
Most of us have come to expect, if not accept, a level of partisanship and posturing from elected officials. Deliberate lying is beyond what we should tolerate. Filling a vacancy on a committee steering the construction of a $9 million fire house is not the most important public appointment in the world. But the Onset Fire and Water District Prudential Committee has overstepped the bounds of decency. At the meeting of January 11, 2018, the Committee chairman stated they would fill the vacancy by first contacting those who had submitted written “applications,” i.e. letters of interest. That seemed reasonable. At the Building Committee meeting of January 23, 2018, Chairman and Water Commissioner Frank Kowzic had four letters of interest; and he responded to a direct question, “Have all of these applicants been contacted and indicated they still wish to be considered?” with “Yes they have.” He was looking directly at me, there was no misunderstanding the question nor ...