Dear Editor,

This letter is in response to Judy Tully’s letter of October 13, 2021 excoriating the Independence Township Board of Trustees for not being able to settle on a replacement Supervisor for Pat Kittle, and her unabashed enthusiasm for Paul Brown.
In a July 28 article in this very newspaper, “Next Township Supervisor Still to be Determined,” Matt Mackinder quoted Paul Brown as saying “I ruffled feathers, and my management style, I know what it is, and I don’t think my management style is the right thing right now to go with the two full-time elected officials we have. I don’t think it’s the best thing, and I will not put my hat into the ring.”
Brown went on to say the more he reflected on the possibility of succeeding Kittle, the more he realized mistakes he had made, saying, “If you’re smart, you always try to think about your mistakes.”
He mentioned the three full-time employees of the Township, saying “… those three full-timers are there every day.” They have to have a relationship that allows the employees to not worry, and that’s the most important thing, the employees. If that is not a cohesive unit, you have people that will leave, and that’s the worst thing for the township.
This is the point that Ms. Tully made when she said “At a time when experienced employees are very valuable, we don’t want to lose any of our valued employees.” This is exactly why Paul Brown declined to run for the Supervisor’s job. Her promotion of his candidacy works against her regard for “valued employees.”
Now, it seems something changed and Mr. Brown has thrown his hat into the ring. I don’t think the township employees have changed their minds about working with him, or that his management style has changed, so what caused him to change his mind?
Also, it’s fair to point out that Pat Kittle who promised to be neutral in the selection of his successor, broke that promise and recommended Mr. Brown for this position at the last board meeting.
Further, it has come to my attention that Jose Aliaga another board member in contention for that position has been pressured to withdraw his candidacy in favor of Mr. Brown. He refused to do so citing the need for transparency.
I agree with Ms. Tully that it would be unfortunate to kick this election up to the county level where, not to mention the cost estimated at $40,000, political hacks could very well wind up running for this critical position. So it is important to settle the matter now while we still have control over it.
The most reasonable thing to do now is for Paul Brown to honor his commitment not to run, and elect Jose Aliaga as the next supervisor of Independence Township.

Sincerely,
Vincent Bozzone
Clarkston

P.S. All this could have been avoided if Pat Kittle had finished his term.