Heres a column I wrote for our Sunday paper. See what you think. Thanks! Fayette County is a great place to live, full of wonderful people and an unlimited amount of things to do. I moved here 33 years ago with my wife, and we never left, raising a son and a daughter in the process. But unfortunately Fayette County also has a dark side. And Im not talking about the poverty and crime here. Im talking about its politics, especially nepotism. Talk to almost anyone, and youll get a very cynical viewpoint about the way things are done here. Common comments are that the people in power run everything, and that you have to be related to them to get ahead. Its all about who you know, not what you know. Ive tried defending the way things are done in Fayette County from time to time, but its getting harder and harder when you look at some recent happenings. n James Browfield, the son of Gary Brownfield, chairman of the Fayette County Prison Board, is hired as a lieutenant at the Fayette County Prison. Another applicant isnt even interviewed. n Uniontown Area School Board Director Thomas George votes to hire his nephew Philip Michael as the school districts truancy officer at a salary of $45,000. The job isnt advertised, and theres no job description either. George tries to deny that Michael is his nephew, saying hes related to his wife not him. The vote was 5-4, meaning that without Georges vote, Michael wouldnt have been hired. n Uniontown Area School Board Director Vincent Winfrey votes to give raises to school district administrators, including his son, David, who will get a $10,000 raise over three years, hiking his salary from $34,000 to $44,000. No justification was given for the raise, as it was for the other administrators.The vote was 5-3-1, meaning that without Vincent Winfreys vote the measure would have failed. Defenders of the status quo will argue that the best qualified person should get the job, no matter the relationship. Sounds good, but who is determining the qualifications? More importantly, who is going to make sure this person is properly supervised. Say youre a school principal tasked with overseeing the daughter or son of a school board member. How are you going to properly supervise this person, knowing that any harsh words could cost you your job. How in the world can anyone say thats OK? Some will also say that relatives are hired all the time in the private sector. Well, if someone wants to staff his or her business with all the relatives they can find, thats up to them. But its different in the public sector where taxpayers are footing the bill. No elected official has the right to feather his own nest at the expense of others. Hard to believe anyone doesnt really understand that reasoning. Im not saying that all relatives who got jobs werent qualified. Im sure that some of them are doing great jobs. But you have to ask yourself did they have an unfair advantage over others who applied for the job? What about all the qualified candidates who have lost out because they didnt have the right connections? Many of them were forced to find other lines of employment or even move out of the area? Its also not to say that all the people involved in these situations are bad or evil. Most of them are probably decent, honest people who are just trying to help their loved ones get ahead in this world. But that still doesnt make it right. Elected officials take an oath to serve the public not their families. One way around this mess would be for all levels of government to adopt anti-nepotism policies. That would take all the drama out of such hirings and ensure that everyone is on a level playing field. Right now the Frazier School District is the only local entity with such a policy, and it sure doesnt seem to be hurting them. Whats needed is for local residents to demand their public officials enact a similar policy. If youre cynical about the way things are done in Fayette County, then put people in power who will do something about it. Thats the only way things will change. Too many people think its been this way here forever, and nothing will ever change. But things can change. Thousands of school districts and municipalities across the country, including the Frazier School District, have adopted anti-nepotism policies with positive results. It can happen here. But you have to make it happen. I cant do this alone. I can rail against nepotism til the cows come home, and it wont make a lick of difference. Only you can make a difference.
Posted on: Mon, 14 Jul 2014 12:09:52 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015