Victor Olson appointed for GLTech position

At a joint meeting of the Dracut School Committee, Board of Selectmen, and remaining member of the Greater Lowell Regional Technical High School, Victor Olson was appointed to fulfill the remaining two and a half month term that was vacated by Brian Martin.

Five candidates had put forth letters for consideration for the position: Victor Olson, William Morin, Paul E Morin, Jeanne Balkas and Dave Norkewicz.

This meeting was not without some interesting discussion, however.

The meeting started with a statement from DJ Deeb, the current lone member of the GLTech board.

Mr Chairman, I am not comfortable voting this evening because I feel we should not be voting to fill this vacancy for the following reasons:
Number one, I am concerned about this process that has been followed. As vice chair of the Greater Lowell Regional School Committee last tuesday to fulfill my legal obligations I sent a letter to town clerk kathy Graham informing her that my colleague Brian Martin had resigned effective Feb 13th.
I left for a scheduled trip to Hondorus on Wed morning, Feb 18th and returned from my trip early yesterday morning.
During that time a meeting had been scheduled for this evening to fill the position.
What is the rush?
The announcement did not appear in the Lowell Sun until two days ago on Saturday.  That gave people interested in filling this vacancy just 48 hours to apply.
This has never been done when there has been vacancies on other committees like the Capital Planning or Finance Committees.
People did not even have seven days to consider and submit a letter.

Update: Lowell Sun Reports
My phone has been ringing off the hook since yesterday, and I know that at least four qualified people, and now I see five, have submitted letters of interest.
I spoke to several other people yesterday who expressed an interest but did not have adequate time to submit a letter of intent.
I do not believe this process, which has been rushed needlessly, has been fair at all to the taxpayers of Dracut.
Nomination papers have been available for three weeks now. I believe the voters should decide who gets this seat.
Mass General Laws say we “shall” appoint someone. This is not necessarily the same as “will.”
I believe the intent of the law was to fill a vacancy when a substantial amount of time exists between the vacancy and a scheduled election. This is not the case here because we have only two scheduled meetings at Greater Lowell before the Dracut Town elections.
In other words, it is not urgent that we fill this seat.
In summary, I am not prepared to vote this evening. I’ve just recieved letters of application as have all of you. I have not had a chance to review them or to read them.
I believe this process is being rushed and gives the appearance of being tainted.
There are many qualified applicants before us, and I congratulate those who had a chance to apply for applying, but I have not had a chance to review these.
Furthermore, if I were to vote to fill this position, I would want to extrace a promise from the applicants that they would not run for the office in May. I believe this is the only fair way to do this.  Again, what is the rush.
I say the election being just around the corner, let the voters decide. Thank you Mr Chairman.

Now, during this little diatribe, you could see the faces of some of the others on the board as they got more and more angry.. but they controlled themselves. To a point.

Mike Miles went on to say that the definition of the process was done by the Town Clerk, Kathy Graham. Mike did not agree with Deeb’s opinion on “shall” and “will” and saw Kathy as the arbiter of the law in this case.

Deeb then asked whether we even have to vote tonite?

Town Clerk Kathy Graham then explained the terms of the original agreement forming the regional school, and then the applicable Mass General Laws.

Nobody else in the room seemed interested in putting off a vote.

Selectman Bob Cox took the opportunity to say:

Mr Chairman, I just want to say a couple words about some of the things that were said about the process. Mr Deeb referred to shortchanging the taxpayers of the town by rushing this process.

I think by not rushing the process we put them at higher risk, leaving only one member of the board to represent our town on the regional school board.

As far as what we’re going through now with budget cuts and things like that, if its two or three meetings before the town election whoever wants to run is going to have to put their name on the ballot and go through the process like the rest of us.

However, it is certainly tumultuous times right now, and to have someone on that board even going through the learning process … its been pointed that this may give someone an unfair advantage because you’d be running as an incumbent. Quite honestly, I just don’t see that it does.

I think if you want to put your name on the ballot, you’re going to have to stand up, and have to go to the debates as we all do, and you’re going to have to prove yourself to the voters and earn their trust.

So I would hate to see the taxpayers shortchanged by leaving only one member on that regional board instead of two.

Deeb replied that he had to “respectfully disagree.”

I chaired the last meeting that was held a week and a half ago, Thursday Feb 12th.  That’s why I sent the letter in place of George OHare notifying the town of the resignation .. but when we’re just getting this tonite (and I’m not blaming anyone) I haven’t had a chance to read through all this. I’m just being handed this 10 minutes ago. We’re pushing the process, we’re nominating people, and these letters haven’t even been read, and I think that does a disservice.. thank you.

You could feel what was to come. O’Loughlin was fuming through most of this.. and we were all waiting for it… “MR Chairman…”

We’re probably going to discuss this longer than the person will serve in the position.

What concerns me mostly Mr Chairman is the disingenuousness nature of some of the comments tonite and some of the comments and letters in the paper unfortunately by my own colleague.

I don’t buy into any of it quite frankly, and to use the words that were used by another speaker tonite that this is a tainted process ..

I don’t like the words, I don’t like the insinuation that I’m taking part in a “tainted process,” You can use these little buzzwords if you want, but quite frankly between my colleague who wanted to refer to “back room politics” and “power politics” and now tonite I have to listen to a speaker talk about a “tainted process” and not having time to read four sheets of paper.. I don’t know how much effort was put into going to town hall to pick this up earlier.. if someone needed more time to do it, it might have been available, I don’t know those answers.

But I don’t like the insinuations and I don’t like people coming to meetings and throwing the words “tainted” around and casting aspersions that our Town Clerk was incorrect in some of her readings of the law.

Its all nonsense quite frankly.

Its absolute nonsense.

We’re being asked to fill an appointment for a board following the dictates of the Town Clerk who runs the elections in this town.. following the dictates of the Secretary of State’s office..

These are the people who are either elected or in the Secretary of States office or are appointed in the Town Clerks position to give me opinions, not someone from the sidelines without a juris doctorate telling me what the difference between “shall” and “will” is.

I’m sorry, I’m going to listen to people in the position of authority to tell me about that.

So, without any more comment, because if I keep going I’m probably going to get a little more upset, because I think there’s a charade going on.

In one case, with my colleague, its fine that people sometimes don’t get their own way pick up their ball and go home. That’s ok.. thats ok.

But I think in Mr Zimini’s position he not only picked up the ball and went home but he took the ball and threw it through someone’s plate glass window.I think he brought that to a whole new level.

So it aggravates me a little that I’m sitting here again tonite, and we’re going through the same sort of charade, same sort of mascarade.. in using little words like that.

I’m certainly prepared, I have a list in front of me .. any one of these people.. Mr Olsen, who’s education certainly prepares him to fill that position, Bill Morin who has experience with governmental bodies, Paul Morin whos education and experience in that school rises him to that level, Jeanne Balkas whose experience on this board and whos educational experience .. and Dave Norkiewicz who’s employed by a regional school..

Any one of these people, and I don’t need a lot of time to look at their resumes,  it just took me 30 seconds to see that any one of these people is very capable of going to that school and representing the town of Dracut.

Without further adieu, I’m ready to vote for any one of them.

Deeb then asked O’Loughlin what his “criteria” for voting tonite would be.. He just doesn’t know when to let it alone I guess…

Selectman O’Loughlin:

What is MY criteria Mr Deeb?

I’ve been elected by the people of Dracut to represent them and that’s what I’m doing here this evening, Mr Deeb.

If you’re not going to follow through on the people who elected you on one board, and you’re not going to represent them at this table tonite, by voting for someone.. that the law clearly states that you shall do..

Instead you’re going to come here tonite and try to throw a cog into the process and not do your job as an elected member of the Greater Lowell Regional Vocation School.. then you’re not doing your job.

Don’t dare question me on what my criteria is, I’m going to make a very clear conscious vote.

The votes then went on with Deeb voting “present” each time, and the boards eventually settling on Mr Victor Olson.

My own opinion?

There is obviously some charade going on, and this continuing effort to throw a “cog into the gears” as O’Loughlin put it makes it more obvious.

Deeb thinks its is wrong to put someone into office who will only participate in 2 meetings.. but the fact is those two meetings span two and  a half months. Thats a considerable period of the year which oversees much of the budget process for next year.

Dracut should be represented during this period.

If Deeb were doing so, and he says that he chaired the last meeting, maybe we would know why that board has not responded in nearly a month now to a request by the town for a return of funds?

Who is Deeb representing over there? the taxpayers of Dracut?

Who did he serve by voting “present” but his own agenda.. whatever that is.

No, it is clear another representative should be in place, if even to give some balance and visibility to what is going on over there.

 

 DJ Deeb decides not to participate [2:55m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Bob Cox responds to Deebs [1:29m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 And O'Loughlin tells Deeb he should do his job [1:29m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download