Letter to the Editor

On occasion we at City Watch will allow a letter to the Editor that we publish. Typically, they are letters tied to an important event or situation in Albion. We do review all letters and will only consider those that are factually accurate, not abusive and important, in our opinion, to the local community. We find the letter below to fit all in these categories and agreed to post it. The letter writer is well known in the Albion area, though that is not why we chose his letter, but his points tie in to our story which will be released later today.

John Face Chief Editor and Publisher of City Watch News.

AEDC Board of Directors;

Please carefully consider the formal oath of office you swore as public officials appointed to serve the City of Albion as Directors of the Albion Economic Development Corporation (AEDC). Each of you has solemnly pledged to support the Constitution of the United States and the State of Michigan and that each of you will, to the best of your abilities, faithfully and IMPARTIALLY discharge the duties of the AEDC.

Rushing to hire an individual who is currently under investigation by the Michigan State Police, who has allegedly made several improper fiscal transactions, who has reportedly caused the AEDC to breach a lease contract, putting the corporation and City of Albion at risk of litigation, who has required the AEDC to pay for additional professional services to assist this same individual in satisfactorily performing the duties of the same position you are about to hire them for; and who has, in the last 12-months, repeatedly demonstrated difficulty in effectively working with a super-majority of the AEDC Board of Directors, as well as numerous vital stakeholders; is NOT IMPARTIAL.  

In summary, rushing to hire this individual under the cloud of these circumstances is hardly an impartial discharge of your duties. Instead, such an action would underscore an impassioned effort to “right a wrong” that some or all of you perceive has been committed against this individual. Each of you has the responsibility to faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of your office, and that requires the law enforcement investigation be completed, and allegations of fiscal irregularities be laid to rest, as well as honestly engaging the stakeholders whom this individual has not effectively worked with, all before offering an employment contract of this magnitude and turning over the corporation to this individual.

Finally, it would help if you considered that a failure to discharge your office’s duties impartially would violate your oath of office as a public official and constitute official misconduct. 

Respectfully,

Dave Atchison

Albion Michigan