Dear Editor:
I need to set the record straight in regards to the letter to the editor in last week’s Whitewater newspaper concerning the election and Mike Moore’s win of mayor elect. The letter was insulting both to Mike and his campaign team to which I was a member. The statements made that current Mayor Hal Johnston lost the election due to being slandered, maligned and treated like dirt are wholly unfounded and untrue and not to mention calling the kettle black.
I was the individual who asked Hal about his lawsuit against the township for wrongful dismissal at the first all candidates meeting held in Beachburg; that being whether the lawsuit was settled or not. During the 2014 election, many were led to believe that the lawsuit had been settled. Yet afterwards, this was found to be untrue. I felt that Hal, serving as our mayor, was in conflict of interest while his lawsuit was still pending — and I wasn’t alone. The subsequent questions concerning the lawsuit that were put forth at the remaining all candidates meetings were asked by individuals who were not part of Mike’s campaign team.
I did make some comments about Hal on Facebook under one of Mike’s postings in reference to voting for change yet nowhere did I slander Hal. What I received in return was accusations about the professionalism of Mike’s run for mayor. Another campaign member then posted her experience working with Hal during her employment at town hall.
Mike ran a clean and fair campaign despite what Hal or his family may think. They are upset that Hal was not voted back in as mayor which is understandable, yet he lost due to not receiving enough votes, plain and simple. The fact that all the returning councillors won back their positions tells me that many members of our community were fine with the existing council returning, just not with Hal at the helm. This could be contributed to several factors such as his past performance, the conflicting information surrounding his lawsuit, the way in which our fire chief Wayne Heubner’s and deputy-fire chief Mike Moore’s exit from the Whitewater Fire Department was handled or possibly even the way Hal conducted himself at the final all candidates meeting in Westmeath.
Regardless of the reasons behind Hal’s loss, Mike Moore is our new mayor-elect and it is time for everyone to accept his win and let him move ahead with the business of running this township for the good of all.
Janet Burns,
Cobden
