Charter Amendments/Ad Misinformation

To the Editor:

The recently submitted letter to the editor by the Chairman of the Charter Commission stated that “..the commentary included with each ballot item was placed there because of THE COLLECTIVE ACTION OF THE CHARTER COMMISSION.” This is an ERRANT CLAIM because the Commission was not aware of the ad until after it had been completely designed and submitted for publication. In fact, the Chairman, without prior authorization for either the ad or the expenditure of Commission funds, moved forward with it. The commissioners did not even see the ad until after it had been submitted for publication. The majority of the Commission must have felt this was appropriate and approved his actions after being informed when it would have been too late to have it changed anyway. If I had been able, I would have requested my name be removed from the ad.

In my personal opinion, the chairman’s statement that the proposed amendments are for the protection and betterment of our City is incorrect and some will have the opposite effect. I will be voting NO on the amendments. I ask you to carefully consider your vote.

Jim Zarling

Fairmont