If you watched the Willmar City Council on Jan. 17 or read the West Central Tribune on Jan. 18, you've probably figured out why the mayor sent a letter Dec. 6 to LInda Kacher telling her that he, the mayor, would not be reappointing her to the Economic Development Commission Joint Operations Board.
For those citizens not already aware, the mayor's general appointment powers under our city charter do not apply to appointments to the EDC Operations Board. However, when the mayor wrote his letter he obviously must have already committed himself to recommending someone else, Les Heitke.
During the Jan. 17 council meeting, several city council members stated that people who want to serve on boards or commissions should be able to regardless of past political aspirations, positions or activities.
Well, Kacher wasn't seeking a "new" position, she was a sitting member of the EDC Operations Board, serving with distinction as vice president of that board, having twice been elected to that office by her fellow members of the EDC Operations Board.
However, our mayor, even though caught violating our city charter, has begrudgingly pursued removing Kacher by engineering the passage of a "recommendation" by our City Council to the EDC to appoint Les Heitke to the Operations Board in place of Kacher.
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I hope the EDC Commissioners see through all this and decide to do the right thing, and reappoint Kacher to a second term.
Cheryl Johnson
Willmar
