Lehighton rejects committee member
A motion to appoint a newly elected Lehighton councilman who has yet to sit in on a meeting after he exchanged words last month with a fellow council member to a committee has been rejected.
Borough council, on a 5-0 vote Monday, denied the appointment of Councilman William Rodweller to the borough’s Parks & Recreation Board. Rodweller, along with Councilman Joe Flickinger, were absent.
Rodweller, who won a seat in the November election, could be heard arguing with Councilwoman Autumn Abelovsky before the start of the Jan. 6 reorganization meeting.
After the meeting, Abelovsky said words were exchanged after she presented Rodweller with a letter.
“So, basically, it was just me (everyday ordinary citizen Autumn) talking to everyday ordinary citizen William, before the meeting,” Abelovsky said in an email.
When asked for a copy of the letter following last month’s meeting, borough solicitor Jim Nanovic said that since the letter Abelovsky gave to Rodweller was not done during the public meeting, it was not public record.
Council at last month’s regular meeting tabled the appointment of Rodweller to the Parks and Recreation Board.
Comments
The lack of moral governance could use a good dose of lawful transparency. No need for turmoil.
Autumn has the option of releasing the letter as a private citizen, so does Rodweller. Both are not acting in good form as public officials. Both should resign.
These antics are not in the best interest of the general public, in my opinion. And the BS about meeting before the meeting, exchanging documents appears to be lacking the sunshine needed for proper goverance. Did they skirt the law properly, probably, does that make it right? Is properly skirting the law a moral high road? This is why I feel all incumbents are bad politicians. Immoral politicians that learn all the tricks to circumvent the laws,are at risk of using them for more political power. This often removes proper goverance from the community. All incumbents should be removed to mitigate the risk of being corrupted by power, and sliding towards immorality.
Men, persons, of character should stand by their word. And, government actions need to be tested by the moral standards of a proper public review process. This is the refinement process that is missing when elected officials decide to be coy or sneaky sneaks.
If Citizen Autumn and Citizen Rodweller are in a quorum meeting their actions are public. If Autumn saw fit to skirt those requirements, meeting beofr ethe meeting, thereby circumventing the lawful transparency, and damage Rodweller's opportunities, so be it. All those choices on how to act, fall on Autumn. And now exposed, allow the people to decide. Is Autumn a good politician? Is Rodweller a good politician?
The Autumn letter to the Republican Committee tells a story, and is a piece of the puzzle. As does this episode. The pieces of the puzzle are forming the bigger picture. Personally, I am not please with the image with is forming.
For the best interest of those humans weak with moral character, I suggest they resign. And all humans, everyone, moral or immoral should serve only one term. Anything more, in my opinion, becomes a sticky wicket of stale ideas, political posturing and risks of the axiom that power corrupts.
Sincerely,
Citizen David F. Bradley, Sr.
PS: How did the personal meeting becomes a news story? When it was admitted by Larry Stern that he, Larry Stern, President of the LASD School board and Vice President at the time Wayne Wentz, met privately with Larry's wife's boss, the Superintendent to make what appeared to be a verbal agreement to change the board's ability to hold the Superintendent accountable, by request of the Superintendent, changing what I felt was the terms of the contract, the Times News ignored Larry and Wayne's actions of bring a sneaky sneaks? It is these actions that reveal the true nature and motives of a government rubber stampers?
Larry and Wayne should publically apologize, yet to date that apology has not been released.