At the time, the director of the local chamber of commerce was a woman
married to a man who represented deed holders. The chamber director, of
course, was obligated to continue to present The Valley (and Sugarbush)
in the best light possible. Her husband was obligated to represent his
deed holders.
At the time there were questions of conflict of interest and the
appropriateness of husband and wife being involved in this legal battle.
At the time, <MI>The Valley Reporter<D>, in this space,
noted that it was inappropriate to paint either independent professional
with the sins and legal battles of the other. Neither party could be
considered the other's chattel and hence they should be allowed to
perform their jobs as professionals.
Fast forward a decade to the Waitsfield water project. <MI>The
Valley Reporter<D> received a letter this week wherein the writer
questions the appropriateness of the chair of the select board (Kate
Williams) and the chair of the school board (Rob Williams) both
exercising their elected duties with regard to this project.
"Are there policies or procedures that address a situation where the
chair of the select board and chair of the school board, from the same
household, are promoting/voting on the same project in their respective
venues?" the letter writer asks.
To that question we respond the same way we did back then. The select
board chair is an elected official who carries out the duties of the job
via countless hours of volunteer time on behalf of the town. The chair
of the Waitsfield School Board is also an elected official who likewise
volunteers equally numerous hours of his time for the good of the
community school.
Regardless of their obvious connection (married with kids and a house
and a yak farm), is it really reasonable to scrutinize these two people
as if they were part and parcel of each other - one some sort of
appendage of the other, politically or otherwise?
Is it not insulting to the skills and capabilities of each to reduce
them to the chattel? Is it not fairly obvious that neither stands to
gain financially from the success or failure of the water project? These
are two competent professionals who chose to donate their time to the
town. Let's not cast either one of them as chattel to the other, please.
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