Brent
Maguire deserved better.
The former
Fairfield Mayor and 14-year veteran of the city’s police department, was my nominee
to become the new police chief. His qualifications were unquestionable.
I announced my
pick over the weekend prior to the Tuesday city council meeting. That’s when social
media started a high tech lynching of Maguire. I personally had to block a
number of posters on my mayor’s Facebook page that intimated he was dismissed
from the police department in 2014 for cause. There were other more scurrilous charges….all
of which totally false.
Brent
Maguire deserved better.
I personally
reviewed his police personnel folder and found it to be clean of scandal. My conversation
with his supervisor, then-police chief Brad Winter, revealed Maguire served
with distinction.
So, his
good-name was tarnished without any evidence by a number of keyboard warriors.
Then, if
matters couldn’t be worse, the city council decided not to decide.
Maguire
deserved an up-or-down vote. What he got was silence. Nobody made a motion, so
his nomination died. He put himself out there only to have his character
questioned and have eight elected members of his city turn their backs on him.
He deserved
better. It would have been better if a motion had been made and then honest discussion
as to whether or not he was a good fit for the chief’s chair. But obviously,
that discussion had already occurred outside of the public’s presence.
So, the
whole debacle has forced me to decide against allowing comments on my Mayoral
Facebook page. I will continue to be highly accessible. You can find me nearly
every weekday in my office at city hall. Once a month I have “Coffee With The
Mayor” at a local restaurant. You can come in and see me face-to-face if you
have a problem.
But the
stain on my nominee makes finding another qualified candidate even more
challenging. What tripe will be dredged up about the next chief candidate?
Brent
Maguire isn’t the only person who was attacked over the last several weeks.
Opponents to my handling of a police department personnel issue have started
posting things about my family. Its all part of a campaign to intimidate me….and
it isn’t working.
But it all
stops here. No more comments on my Facebook page. I won’t have to worry about
comments attached to a fake Facebook profile anymore.
If you need
me, come by or call 618-842-3871.
Brent
Maguire deserved better. The whole police department deserved better.
