End Hawkins’ tenure

To the Editor:

On Wednesday, I withdrew as candidate for the at-large position on the Fairmont City Council. This was a difficult decision for me, but I think it’s the right thing to do for the city.

I became interested in the dealings of council last year when the majority started running roughshod over the rest of the city government. I’m not trying to lay out the whole sordid tale here; it’s been chronicled in these pages. As I watched the council lurch from one decision to the next, I had one overwhelming thought: we deserve better than this.

It’s plain to anyone who looks that the council factions deeply distrust each other and refuse to work together on all but the most trivial issues. That’s no way to run a city. I know people have tried to bridge the divide, but when one faction insists on having everything their own way and pursuing conspiracy theories instead of getting real work done, working together is a lost cause. This won’t change until the people change.

I’ve spoken with Michele Miller. She agrees with everything I believe about how the city should be run, and is passionate about fixing the problems and getting council back on track. It just doesn’t make sense for us to run against each other when the real need is to turn Tom Hawkins out of office.

I’ve been laying groundwork and making plans to run for this seat since the beginning of 2020. It’s hard for me to give it up now. If I didn’t think withdrawing was absolutely the best thing for the community, I’d stay in the race. The goal here is not as much to elect Jay Maynard as it is to end Tom Hawkins’ tenure on the council. I think Michele Miller is in a very good position to do just that. She’ll have my help and support. I hope she’ll have yours too.

Jay Maynard

Fairmont