October 28, 2011 MUS Sends Three Names to Mayor (7th Time)

The Morristown Utility Commission met yesterday. One item on the agenda was to nominate (for the seventh time!) a slate of three candidates to fill the expired term of Morristown Utility Commissioner George McGuffin.

This time around MUC nominated George McGuffin, Bruce Sluder, and Jerry Isaacs. This seventh slate of three will be presented to Mayor Danny Thomas who will then select and present one name to the City Council for approval of disapproval. 

The Council thus far has rejected all six MUC nominees selected by the Mayor. Rejected so far have been local businessmen, a CPA, an engineer, and presidents of local companies: Mike Minnich, Glenn Thompson, Carroll Fowler, Wally Long, John Allen, and Mike Davidson.

What is wrong with these people serving on the MUC Board? Why are they automatically rejected by the LeBel Five? They are NOT George McGuffin.

Although McGuffin's term expired on July 31, 2011, he continues to sit on the Commission and chair the meetings as a "holdover."  

McGuffin is seen in the video (above) sitting at the head of the table chairing the meeting.  McGuffin's brother-in-law is Dick Jessee. Jessee was at the MUC meeting wearing his MUC attorney hat.

On November 1st when City Council considers Mayor Thomas's MUC nomination, Jessee will be at the City Council meeting wearing his City of Morristown attorney hat. 

ASIDE: Jessee's law partner Herbert Bacon was nominated to serve on the MUC Board in 2000 and continued to serve until 2005 when he was forced to resign after the state attorney general opined that Bacon was ineligible to serve on the MUC Board because he was a General Sessions Judge.

The LeBel Five (Paul LeBel, Bob Garrett, Kay Senter, Chris Bivens, and Claude Jinks) have made it clear that they will vote against anyone whom Mayor Thomas nominates to replace George McGuffin on the MUC Board. 

And the LeBel Five will continue to vote "no" on every mayoral nomination while they ask Rep. Don Miller and State Sen. Steve Southerland to get the state legislature to allow the MUC private act to be changed by a vote of the LeBel Five.

They LeBel gang wants to change the law to completely eliminate the mayor's involvement in the nomination process. Then the LeBel Five will nominate and vote to allow the 34-year McGuffin/MUC dynasty to continue.