The Democratic-led town council last night accepted the resignation of town manager Scott Shanley over the bitter and vocal objections of the minority. Here's the strange part:
Democrats did not offer any rationale for wanting Shanley out, and Tallarita refused to answer a direct request that he do so from Republican William Lee.
"You have to consider that there are people who believe that this is the best decision to make," Democrat Brian Peruta said. "We will move this forward and do what's best for Enfield." (Byron)
Enfield's Greg Stokes, who attended the meeting, reports on his Stokes Report that when Lee asked his question, Tallarita simply said "No." (Read The Stokes Report for more. Especially read the comments. Very informative--this is a good example of what blogs can do on the local level)
I don't understand this. We can't be expected to have blind faith in our leadership, especially on such a local level, and it's absurd for the council majority to ask us to. If there are good reasons for forcing out the town manager, explain them. But so far, the Democrats remain mum. Why?
The working theory, in the absence of any actual reasons provided by Mayor Tallarita or his party, is that the Democrats want to install someone more friendly to their plans. Well, so be it. If that's what they want, then they can do it. They did win in November, and control the council 7-4. I believe it violates the spirit of the charter, which intends the town manager to be an apolitical administrator, but technically there is nothing wrong with that.
It's the secrecy and the "we know best" mentality that bother me most.
Source
Byron, Ken. "A Divided Council Accepts Town Manager's Forced Resignation." Hartford Courant 22 November, 2005.
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