Letter: Town Manager’s Appointment Process Makes a Mockery of Civic Engagement

The recent “firing” (replacement) of Alex Hoar from the Conservation Commission is the latest example of independent residents being purged from committees and other multi-member bodies in Amherst. It’s becoming normal for enormously skilled, thoughtful, experienced professionals who are deeply engaged in the work of the committees on which they serve to be peremptorily blackballed and ousted, as evident in the previous non-reappointments of Michael Birtwhistle Karin Winter to Alex Hoar. And there are those who are are not permitted to serve at all, from John Varner to Darcy Dumont to Anita Sarro. Transparency and accountability are sacrificed and the Resident Advisory Committee is pro-forma (and their deliberations kept secret). It’s no wonder that we have an abundance of committees that can’t meet because not enough members have been appointed. Conversely, it’s  no wonder when the candidate pool is considered lacking, when their names and qualifications are kept secret. Conversely, it’s no wonder that highly qualified but independent residents no longer volunteer, when the likelihood they’ll be blackballed and/or insulted is high.

“I don’t have to tell you why [someone] was not reappointed” makes a mockery of civic engagement and is at the heart of the leadership problems in Amherst (or as some say: “Tisrehma” — (Amherst spelled backwards) today.

Kitty Axelson-Berry is a resident of Amherst and an editor of the Amherst Indy.