Letter: RTM Republicans Argue Ethics Commission Vote Political

To the editor:

Breaking with long-standing tradition, a majority of RTM Dems voted against a sitting ethics commissioner's re-appointment without reaching out to her before the meeting to voice their concerns. Even more egregious, RTM Moderator Wackerman did not encourage the Ethics Commission member to attend the meeting, in effect canceling her voice.

The dissenting RTM Dems gave no reason for their "no" vote. There was no public dialogue whatsoever at the Regular Monthly Meeting of the RTM, nor were there any issues raised when we voted on the same item in January. What happened between January and now? Why treat a member of our Ethics Commission who recently identified a plethora of environmental issues in town so poorly? These same RTM Dems claim to care about the environment and support the democratic process, yet they vote against the whistleblower who exposed contamination. Why didn’t Moderator Wackerman follow the long-standing tradition of notifying leadership about potential issues with an appointee? Why shut down a distinguished community member’s opportunity to speak?

Commission appointees are all citizen volunteers who choose to take time out of their busy lives to serve our community, volunteer their time, and selflessly give back to the town. Why did these RTM Dems put a fellow neighbor in such an awkward position, essentially telling her she is not wanted when all she wants to do is to help the town? All of this suggests that the dissenters' motives were purely political.

Here is the roster of 14 RTM Dems who put politics over people and canceled an ethics commissioner's voice:

• Moderator Karen Wackerman, District 7
• Reps. Matt Jacobs and Scott Nickel, District 3
• Reps. Laura Karson, Alice Kelly and Meredith Odinak, District 4
• Reps. Will Diaz, Josh Garskof, Joe Seibert and Jay Wolk, District 5
• Reps. Matt Ambrose and Lisa Havey, District 6
• Rep. Lauren Bove, District 7
• Rep. Dru Georgiadis, District 9

We want to thank the commissioner for her willingness to step up and serve the Fairfield community once again. She comes from a loving, giving and charitable family with a history of public service to our town. We know she will serve in her position well.

Sincerely,

RTM Rep. Pamela Iacono and RTM Rep. Jeff Steele jointly with the entire RTM Republican Caucus