Why the Rush To Hire the Wrong Town Manager?

A Letter to the Editor from John Natale:

I am extremely disappointed at the strong-arm tactics of the Select Board in our town.

Why were the three progressives on the Select Board, namely: Lance Grenzeback, Michael Bettencourt, and Mariano Goluboff so hell bent on hiring former Fitchburg Mayor Lisa Wong despite her withdrawing from the competition that they risked an Open Meeting Law violation to vote give her the Town Manager’s job over the objections of other Selectmen who wanted a wider choice of applicants from which to select a new TM? Ms. Wong has a history of supporting radical progressivist policies, but that’s not what the role of town manager should involve. Town Manager should not be a political position that divides people. It is a role that should prioritize around good government for everyone. That means maintaining essential services and providing good government procedures not promoting a political agenda.

Town Manager Richard Howard wisely kept out of politics, but it appears Ms. Wong may have high hopes to use Winchester as a laboratory for progressivist policies. Winchester taxes are already very high. We should be searching for a town manager who will address that problem. How about a town manager who can tell us how to stand up against the multiple Chap. 40B projects that will make our schools even more overcrowded. How about a town manager that will listen to the people of Winchester. Furthermore, it is widely believed that Ms. Wong favors sanctuary city and state status. This is a position that is surely opposed by most Winchester residents.

Winchester has to get its house in order. For Sale signs are popping up everywhere, and we want our community to consist of those who helped to build it and not force those pioneers out because they cannot afford to live here any longer. Let’s get a town manager who can stop the bleeding and hopefully reign in the every year expectations of higher taxes, more regulation and burdensome state mandates.

Until the BOS can find a terrific, and non-controversial, replacement, we should ask Richard Howard to remain on the job for a few more months. Winchester should not choose the town’s most important employee in haste.

John Natale, Chester Street