Editorials - 06/21/01

It's fine to check candidate's references; also read newspapers

With county officials refusing to talk about the situation and refusing to release the letter from Mason declining consideration, we decided to devote a few minutes to learning what we could about Westmoreland. It was our intent only to see what kind of information was available with a minimum of research.

After just a couple of Tuesday afternoon calls to journalistic colleagues in the Palmetto State, we found out that Westmoreland left his post with Greer city government 18 months ago (taking a pay cut in excess of $50,000 in the process) shortly before a serious budget crisis surfaced. Not only that, we discovered he sued his local newspaper, The Greer Citizen, for reporting on the above. The Citizen, alleged the lawsuit, damaged Westmoreland's credibility, and he "was forced into resigning his position with the city of Greer."

Though we don't yet have all the facts, we find it troubling that Westmoreland was so quick to file court papers. Apparently there was not much basis for the suit, and Westmoreland withdrew it a month later.

None of this information in and of itself means that Westmoreland is not an excellent candidate for county manager; however, it does seem to be reason for additional research. It also illustrates the inherent problems with the closed selection process local commissioners have attempted to conduct.

The Open Meetings Law allows public bodies to hold closed sessions to "consider the qualifications, competence, performance character, fitness, conditions of appointment or conditions of initial employment" of a public employee.

To us - and we're basing our opinion on the thoughts of veteran N.C. Press Association attorney Hugh Stevens - that means that when the recruitment and interview process is over, the commissioners can meet behind closed doors to talk about the candidates. If the process is not an open one, allowing only a few people to be privy to the applicants' backgrounds, it's much easier for a candidate to withhold information.

One commissioner even told us a while back that he supported releasing the names of finalists to the press because "if you know their names, you can find out more information than we can." Though that commissioner subsequently refused to release the names, we think we have proven his point.

During a secret recruitment and interview process, the only information commissioners receive is what's provided by the applicants and the friends they list as references. When the process is open, citizens can be involved through public forums, and local reporters can call or visit the candidates' home towns and write detailed profiles.

We can think of several instances when troubling information about school administrators has surfaced after their hiring. A more open selection process could have saved a lot of heartache in these cases.

And when checking the background of those who, like Westmoreland, have earned a living from public dollars, officials should go to the most thorough, objective source - their local newspapers.

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