I attended the BOS meeting last night, May 3, 2021, and was extremely disappointed in how several Selectman discounted public sentiment and their abhorrent treatment of Selectman Bruce Breton, especially by Selectman Heath Partington.
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It was as if Breton was on trial for a bad decision he made, when in fact, it is the rest of you who are required to explain and provide justification for your decision to choose Verified Voting and Mark Lindeman to perform the forensic audit related to the 2020 election. You have it backward and are using one of the oldest tricks in the book to provide cover for your poor decision.
How can you award a public contract to an individual that was not available to be questioned and face public scrutiny?
I understand that Mr. Lindeman had a health emergency and could not be part of the interview process and that he had someone available in his place. OK, fine. However, that is unacceptable, especially in a situation as serious as this. Let me ask you – would you send a colleague or friend to a job interview in your absence (regardless of the reason) to answer questions on your behalf and tell a prospective employer how great of an employee you will be for that prospective employer? I doubt it… and, I highly doubt a prospective employer would even entertain that scenario, and neither should our town.
Partington’s question, “Did you call Mark Lindeman?” to Breton was ridiculous.
Once again, Partington was gaslighting Breton on this issue, and Chairman Ross McLeod went along with it. The question should have been for Heath Partington – “What were you doing calling Lindeman outside of this Board’s meeting in public?” Lindeman should have been brought before the BOS and be subject to public scrutiny.
Partington should know this. If he doesn’t, he should resign from the BOS immediately for incompetence. Again, Partington should not have had a “1 on 1” conversation with Lindeman that is not subject to public scrutiny. That is totally inappropriate and unethical. Where is the transcript of that call, Heath?
To the issue of “nobody brought up the letter…” signed by Lindeman questioning the Maricopa County, AZ until after the selection of Verified Voting, raised by Heath Partington – that does not void the appearance of a conflict of interest. Nice try, Heath. Blame everyone else.
It appears that all members of the Board failed in conducting comprehensive due diligence on Verified Voting, and that is concerning.
As individuals, we are all flawed, and many have implicit bias, and nobody likes to be called out in public for their mistakes. But, that is what being an elected official entails. Deal with it, Heath. You ran for and were elected to the position of Selectman, now do the job and take responsibility and stop gaslighting.
IF the Windham BOS has any credibility (left), they will void their selection of Verified Voting, and Lindeman would, at a minimum, be called back in an emergency session of the Windham BOS to be subject to robust public scrutiny. If Lindeman does not show, Verified Voting will automatically be disqualified.
Additionally, the other candidates would be called back as well to be subjected to additional public scrutiny. After that, allow the townspeople to voice their selection and go from there. You know, like a representative government works. Then, and only then, can we, the residents of Windham and New Hampshire, have confidence in the choice of forensic auditor.
In response to (I believe) Selectman Roger Hohenberger’s statement “…Trust us,” which garnered raucous laughter: Earn it, Roger.
To Heath Partington: See ya, in 2022.
Editors Note: The vultures pictured in the featured image do not represent any threat promised or otherwise to the Windham selectman – some of whom like to make things up about that – they are the selectman (except for Bruce, of course).
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