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Public Had No Voice

I am writing in response to your article of Oct. 1 “Critics Claim Westbrook First Selectman Overstepped Authority.” I am appalled that Westbrook Republican town selectmen Noel Bishop and John Hall have acted against long-standing, regular process of our Board of Finance, which is deemed by state authority to have the responsibility to replace its own members. The Board of Finance is the check and balance against a Board of Selectmen spending spree.

These selectmen voted a party member, without notice, without interviewing other candidates (another candidate was in the running), at a quickly scheduled meeting, the day after a holiday, prior to an already planned Board of Finance meeting. Stinks like politics?

Bishop and Hall are undemocratic. They deprived the all-volunteer board their statutory authority, denied a good citizen his rights to interview, and the public transparency. Westbrook board and commission members be warned: Bishop and Hall say they have respect for the many years you have served our town, but do they act like they do? In this case, the public had no voice nor the board they stripped of authority.

Marie Farrell

Westbrook