The City Councilman to watch on Monday night when commission appointments are made will be freshman member Mehaul O’Leary.
Before winning election to the Council last April, Mr. O’Leary applied four different times in two years for a seat on a variety of commissions.
Four times up, four times down.
Not only was he never selected, he recalled last night that he did not attract one vote from any of the five Council members.
Among the pledges Mr. O’Leary made last spring when campaigning for the City Council was to introduce a sense of thoroughness to commission appointments.
Anybody Reading These?
“I got the impression that applications were not being read and that a number of persons were not being considered,” Mr. O’Leary said. “There were friends, and then there were the others. These choices are hugely important. We need to realize that.”
The Councilman already has started to fulfill promise to be more thorough. A few weeks ago when the first round of appointees for commission seats were voted upon, Mr. O’Leary, a businessman, interviewed every contender for every commission. And he said he carefully read through the entirety of each person’s application.
As of this morning, Mr. O’Leary said he needed to complete a few more interviews. But by Monday night, he expects to know the candidates almost as well as their friends know them.
