Editorial

Team Players welcomed, obstructionists go home

There have been many minority positions on the various boards I cover, and many times when that minority position does not prevail when the vote is done. But the protocol is, when the gavel comes down and the vote is final, all members of the Board are supposed to get behind the action and see it through with their full support.

Someone forgot to tell John Welch how to be a team player.

Monday night's Council meeting was embarrassing for the Council and Acting Manager. Mr. Welch said he had no confidence in the budget his peers had created, despite the input of the Assessor, Controller, four Councilors, the Finance Committee, and the Auditor. Mr. Welch had not attended any of the FinCom meetings, was unsure how to calculate TIF revenues, and had contributed little during the budget discussions, ongoing these many months. Yet he was sure the budget was in dire need of the steady hand of former Manager Mitch Berkowitz. He asked several times for the Council to ask Mitch to come back and give the budget a hard look and tell them it was OK. Chair Foster said no. Mr. Welch insisted. "I'm calling him!" Mr. Welch said. "We need him!"

First, Gray already has an Acting Manager. What would Ms. Hill think to hear Mr. Welch set her aside so easily? Mr. Welch should get on his knees and thank Ms. Hill for staying on past her retirement date to help the Council and the Town.

Second, Mr. Welch is a peer member of the Board who goes against every decision the majority makes, insists on doing his own thing, refuses to see reason and is obstructionist, petulant, and antagonistic toward his peers. His behavior reminds me of the opposite behavior I saw from other minority members. Such class and grace exhibited from other minority members over the years; Carmel Morin, often on the losing side of a vote, Tod Bennett, Sue Austin, …many others who advocated for their position, lost, but then stood firm with the Board as a whole and moved forward with the majority decision enthusiastically. I respect that.

Monday night showed me in no uncertain terms how some people just like to be a barrier to forward motion. I do not respect a person on a team who impedes his team. Mr. Welch should either be a team player or stay home and let his team get on with the work.

Editorial by Elizabeth Prata
editor@monumentnews.com