The chairmen of Westport’s town commissions insist that fellow commissioners not comment on cases that come before them. Chairmen traditionally urge commissioners not to associate with public interest groups that want them to vote one way or another, because – as the Town Attorney always says – it is essential to avoid putting the Town in an awkward or embarrassing situation. That isn’t always possible, but commissioners, and other public officials, usually try to do their best.
Recently, however, there seems to be less willingness to save the Town from the awkward and embarrassing. Amy Ancel (RTM District 3) recently made headlines for authoring an anti-YMCA flyer, which was stuffed into mailboxes in the Old Hill neighborhood. (See the Slippery Slope below.) Matthew Mandell (RTM District 1) e-mails his constituents and proudly proclaims that he is a director of the Partrick Open Space Alliance (POSA), an environmental political action committee, which recently expanded the focus of its lobbying.
POSA also endorses candidates for local office. In 2003, for example, POSA Chairman Mandell backed fellow POSA members James Cochrane, Sean Timmins and Helen Martin Block in their bids for the Planning and Zoning Commission. The first two lost, but Ms. Block won the 2003 election and she continues to serve after being reelected last year. (Mr. Timmins is now a member of the RTM, where he has represented District 2 since 2005.)
There is nothing wrong with a local interest group putting forth a slate of candidates, or supporting politicians. But it worries us at Politicus Machamux when elected members of one town body want to influence members of another – as was the case with Ms. Ancel’s flyer. It also concerns us that P&Z Commissioner Block is publicly allied with a group that is trying to thwart the Westport Weston Family Y from building on its Mahackeno campsite.
From the beginning, we have watched the approval process for the Mahackeno project with both interest and concern, and not because PM supports the Family Y. We support transparency and fairness. We want to maintain the integrity of the approval process.
In the old days – in the 20th century – most Westport commissioners wanted to avoid the accusation of partiality at all costs, so they refused to participate in hearings involving their neighborhoods. We at PM think today’s P&Z commissioners should remember that tradition as the Westport Weston Family Y presents its application to build at Mahackeno. We feel that anyone who lives near the Mahackeno campsite, or has been publicly associated with the Family Y, or its opponents, should recuse himself, or herself, from the decision process. Step aside and allow the P&Z to focus on the facts. You’ll save the Town from what could be an embarrassing and awkward situation.
