By Paige Trace, Guest Columnist
Mr. Mayor, are you a follower or a leader? I quote your Facebook post:
“At the request of Legal, we voted to hold a hearing for the removal of a Planning Board member…. On a 6-2 vote, the Council decided to set this date for February 12th….”
You sir, with all due respect are the Mayor of the City of Portsmouth. You earned this position. It was bestowed upon you literally through votes of respect by the residents.
The residents of Portsmouth expected you to use this position of power to lead Portsmouth through the good times and the bad – to include the simple and the complex times.
“We, the Council” may have voted to hold a hearing but it’s you – you alone who acquiesced to the Legal Department to drag Mr. Hewitt’s Good Name publicly through bloody Hell and back.
You alone decided Mr. Hewitt needed to be treated as guilty until proven innocent. Shamed, mocked and ridiculed publicly, all with your approval. While under the law, he’s considered innocent.
Why, sir? To get Gateway Zoning modified out on Lafayette Avenue which is also US Route 1?
Who fears Mr. Hewitt’s honest, truthful, and knowledgeable understanding of the facts so much that you’re being told by Legal what to do to get rid of Mr. Hewitt? Some special interest group? Developers?
Who suggested to Legal and then to you to make you want to do this to one of your residents?
You are a Good Man, Mayor McEachern. This is ugly. It’s beneath you.
Now be the leader and the man I know you to be.
Stop the witch hunt and the slander. Let Mr. Hewitt serve out his term with honor and integrity. Let him serve the City he so cares about.
Deaglan McEachern, you were born to be a thoughtful and intelligent leader.
You were raised to have the understanding between right and wrong.
Now, please, take a deep breath, suck it up and be the Mayor for everyone – not just the Legal Department.
