WESTFIELD – The policy of Personnel Action Committee Chairman Brent B. Bean II to bring out candidates for reappointment drew a minor philosophical rebuke last night.
Bean requested a suspension of the City Council rules to bring forth the nomination of two candidates for reappointment without sending the nomination to his committee for further review.
The two candidates nominated by Mayor Daniel M. Knapik for reappointment are Kevin Harraghy, who has served as a member of the city Traffic Commission since its inception.
The second nomination was that of Denise Carry, supervisor of the License and Parking Department. State law requires the city to have an appeal process for citizens contesting parking citations. Carey has served as the city’s hearing officer, with the consent of the Police Commission, since that post was established.
Ward 4 Councilor Mary O’Connell objected to Bean’s process of eliminating the PAC review, not only of new candidates for office, but for those nominated for reappointment, as well. O’Connell has made the same objection at recent council meetings.
O’Connell said that her issue is not with either candidate for reappointment, but with the fact that Bean’s policy circumvents the committee process, which leaves councilors who may have concerns about a person being reappointed only one option for discussion, on the council floor during televised, and recorded, council sessions.
Recently, O’Connell has issues with two reappointments, one to the Board of Public Works and a second to the Zoning Board of Appeals. In that case, O’Connell wanted to ask the BPW candidate a policy question about the board’s approach to a specific issue, banners, while O’Connell’s questions pertaining to the ZBA candidate were more personal in nature.
The council members voted to send the ZBA reappointment to the PAC to allow a more frank discussion out of the television camera frame.
O’Connell raised her objection to Bean’s policy as PAC chairman again last night.
“It’s out job to do our due diligence and put this nomination (for reappointment) into committee for review,” she said. “When I was on the PAC, I was against this process.”
Bean responded that his policy is not new and that if a councilor has an issue about a candidate and notifies him, prior to the meeting at which the person is nominated for reappointment, he would consider bringing the that candidate into his committee for an interview.
“This has been going one for a year, if not longer, for reappointments,” Bean said. Bean has argued in the past the candidates for reappointment are known to the council members and have a track record of public service.
The issue came down to a roll call vote on Bean’s motion to suspend the rule to allow for immediate consideration of reappointment of the two candidates. A motion to suspend the rules requires a super majority, nine of the 13-member board, to gain approval. The motion to suspend the rules failed to obtain that super majority with a 8-4 vote. Ward 2 Councilor James E. Brown Jr., was out of the city and not in attendance at last night’s session.
The vote was based upon a philosophical approach to the duties of the council.
Voting for the suspension of the rules were Councilors, James R. Adams, Brent B. Bean II, John J. Beltrandi III, Christopher Crean, Christopher Keefe, Peter J. miller Jr., Richard E, Onofrey Jr., and Brian Sullivan.
Voting against the suspension of the rules were Councilors: Patti Andras, David A. Flaherty, Mary O’Connell and Agma Sweeney.
The nominations were referred to the PAC for its consideration.
