Letter to the Editor: What trouble are you referring to, Mr. Mayor?

At Monday’s Quincy City Council meeting, Mayor Mike Troup stated, “We had trouble with the committee (commissioners) that served for decades.” This was in reference to his decision to not reappoint Steve Meckes to the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners and instead nominate Angela Caldwell to take his place.

Dub Groves, Jim Vandament, Herb Thompson, Jack Madden, David Ayers, Charles Doan, Dick Wentura, Kerry Anders and myself are all former commissioners who served in the past couple decades. My question is: What trouble are you referring to, Mr. Mayor? If you are going to make a statement like that about a group of people, I would like you to clarify what you mean by that statement. 

In my view, all of the commissioners listed above — and particularly the group of commissioners appointed by Mayor Kyle Moore (Barry Cheyne, Kerry Anders and Steve Meckes) — all served with honor and integrity. I applaud Mayor Moore for putting forward an exceptional group of commissioners who would act independently and free of political influence.

Angela Caldwell is a fine and accomplished individual who has served our community well, but I fear she is being used by Mayor Troup to further his agenda.

I understand that it totally is Mayor Troup’s prerogative to appoint whoever he would like to serve on the Board of Police and Fire Commissioners. However, Troup failed to inform the City Council and Meckes himself of this decision. 

Mr. Mayor, next time you throw people under the bus, think about what you are saying.

John A. Spring
Mayor of Quincy, 2005-2013