To the editor:
After reading Councilor Theriault’s letter in last week’s paper, I had to ask myself a couple of questions.
If the charter was knowingly ignored and the council allowed an ineligible person to be sworn in, wouldn’t that make everything voted on during that person’s tenure null and void? If that is the case, wouldn’t every single agenda item have to be revisited and revoted on?
Secondly, what about executive sessions in which confidential city employee information was discussed? The members of the council that allowed this to happen essentially gave a private citizen access to confidential employee information that is protected by law. By knowingly ignoring the charter and swearing in an ineligible person to a council seat, the city of Caribou, through its current council, must be complicit in and therefore liable for these actions. It appears to me that any employee of Caribou could potentially bring suit against the city for violating their civil rights.
Forget the name calling and bad blood. Forget the ignorance for the law or for basic human decency. Forget the embarrassment for the city. The actions of some members of our council may have set the city up for a costly fallout that will cost real dollars, not the imaginary Lyndon kind.
Chris Martin
Caribou
