July 17, 2013 In 4-3 Vote, Council Rejects Max Biery's Re-Appointment to MUS Board

There is a power struggle going on.  It involves several boards appointed by city council. Many of these boards have control over city infrastructure and/or make recommendations to council regarding city development, tax increment financing awards, and other important issues.

At yesterday's city council meeting, an appointment to one of the most powerful boards in Morristown--the Morristown Utility Commission--was on the agenda.

The Morristown Utility Commission voted on June 27 on three names to send to the Mayor (current MUC member Max Biery, Steve Isaacs, and Terry Brimer). The Mayor then  recommends one name for a full council vote. The MUS video is here:

Yesterday, Mayor Thomas recommended that Max Biery be re-appointed to the Morristown Utility Commission.

Bob Garrett, a 40+ year former employee and former head of the Water Department at MUS, immediately moved to reject Biery's nomination. He was then joined by three other councilmembers who rejected Biery by a 4-3 vote. Those voting to reject Biery were Garett, Paul LeBel, Chris Bivens, and Dennis Alvis. Voting for Biery were Mayor Thomas, Gary Chesney, and Kay Senter.

None of the four stated why they were opposed to Biery or who they have in mind for the position. Biery has served as a Morristown Utility Board Commissioner since 2001 when the Board was expanded to five-members. Biery is a retired head of J-TEKT and his initial appointment was seen as placing a representative of industrial interests on the MUS Board.

May 14, 2012 McGuffin Describes the "McGuffin Law" As MUC Prepares Its NINETEENTH List of Candidates

George McGuffin, 34+ year member of the Morristown Utilities Commission (MUC), is tickled to death that the McGuffin Law passed its last step and received final approval by FIVE councilmembers on May 1.

The McGuffin Law changes the appointment process for MUC Board members from what 3,202 voters approved as part of the 2001 MUC Referendum Question to an appointment process that McGuffin, local State Rep. Don Miller, local State Sen. Steve Southerland, and five councilmembers want in 2012--WITHOUT A REFERENDUM.

MUC has submitted EIGHTEEN lists of three MUC-approved candidates to Mayor Thomas for the past 9-10 months.  Mayor Thomas has submitted one of those MUC-approved candidates to the City Council for approval or rejection. All EIGHTEEN have been rejected. Why?  Their last name is not McGuffin.

EIGHTEEN people have been rejected by City Council to keep anyone else from taking the "McGuffin seat" on MUC. The MUC-appointment process that was approved by the people in the 2001 MUC Referendum has been changed for McGuffin.  State Law has been changed for McGuffin.

In the video above, McGuffin presides over Thursday's (May 10th) special meeting of the MUC Board at which time MUC selected its NINETEENTH list of three candidates to submit to Morristown Mayor Thomas.

Harold Nichols, a current and/or former business partner of McGuffin, nominates Terry Brimer, Peter Cantwell, and for the NINETEENTH time, drum-roll please, George McGuffin.

McGuffin starts the meeting by reading about how the voters made changes to the MUC Private Act  IN A REFERENDUM in 2001. Then MUC Manager Jody Wigington steers him to the section about how the FIVE councilmembers amended and overturned the 2001 voter-approved appointment process on May 1, 2012. 

[The FIVE councilmembers who have been party to rejecting EIGHTEEN people and who have snubbed the PEOPLE and changed state law in order to force the appointment of the ONE and ONLY PERSON they want (McGuffin) are Paul LeBel, Kay Senter, Bob Garrett, Claude Jinks, and Chris Bivens.]

Finally McGuffin adds that Mayor Thomas' nomination of Randy Harville, who was on the EIGHTEENTH MUC LIST, was rejected by Council (5-2) on May 1 under the new McGuffin Law and that MUC will send another list to the Mayor.

McGuffin then explains that the newly-ratified McGuffin Law provides that MUC has to "send the Mayor three names today and if he follows suit (and dares to refuse to appoint Me/McGuffin)...as he has done for eighteen times, then we'll have one other time that we have to send names to him and then it will go directly to city council."

Gene Jolley, a current and/or former McGuffin business partner, says "Just one more time after this one?"

McGuffin says "That's the way I understand it."

General Manager Jody Wigington then makes an interesting comment about City Council having the right to make the decision after the third rejection of the Mayor's nominee. "I guess they could choose to do it that day or not."

Probably "not" that day.  The McGuffin Law says that MUC has to provide a full list of three candidates to the Council after receiving notice that a nominee from the third list submitted to the Mayor did not receive a majority vote.  

After the five Councilmembers get through rejecting every person in Morristown who isn't George McGuffin (well, twenty of them), MUC will have to announce a meeting at which a full list of three candidates will be named to submit directly to the Council.  That list, like the twenty before it, will include George McGuffin.

Then LeBel, Garrett, Senter, Jinks, and Bivens with the blessing of and thanks from the irreplaceable George McGuffin can officially put McGuffin back on the MUC Board.

After overriding a referendum (without a new referendum), after rejecting TWENTY PEOPLE (17 under the old appointment process and 3 under the McGuffin Law) and after changing state law, a key part of the Morristown power structure will remain in place.

The-powers-that-be will be happy once again.