Hilton Head should ‘give the people a voice’ on manager

I think the Town Council of Hilton Head Island should take a page from the Republican Senate of 2016.

At that time, it was then-President Obama’s responsibility to nominate a Supreme Court Justice to fill the vacancy left by the untimely passing of Justice Antonin Scalia. U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell refused to consider the president’s nomination of Judge Merrick Garland.

McConnell said on the Senate floor: “The American people may well elect a president who decides to nominate Judge Garland for Senate consideration. The next president may also nominate someone very different. Either way, our view is this: Give the people a voice in the filling of this vacancy.”

In that vein, Town Council should “give the people a voice” in whether or not the town manager’s contract should be terminated. Mayor David Bennett is very close to the final year of his term. The citizens of Hilton Head may well elect a mayor who decides to terminate Riley. The next mayor may also decide that our town manager is a valued asset and his contract should be renewed. Who that mayor is will be determined by the voters of our town. And I am sure that who we elect will make his/her feelings very clear on the subject of our town manager’s continued employment.

This story was originally published September 22, 2017 at 9:19 AM with the headline "Hilton Head should ‘give the people a voice’ on manager."