Our board of commissioners is unfit to lead

To the Editor:

If ever there was a doubt that Dawn Fantasia is unfit to lead the board of commissioners, there isn’t any longer. In fact, there’s no doubt she doesn’t even belong on the board.

Leaders don’t berate citizens. They don’t yell at constituents. And they don’t stage temper tantrums while presiding over a public meeting.

Prior to the June 23 meeting, a large gathering was held outside the SCCC Performing Arts Center protesting the presence of representatives from the Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company lobbying for their proposed gas compressor station expansion in Wantage. Naturally, the board did not take notice. Inside, though, the hypocrisy was abounding. Starting with Herb Yardley, who was in rare form. First, he exchanged words with an audience member who was not wearing a face mask. Why were the commissioners not wearing face masks? Even after it was stated at the start of the meeting that, per Sussex County Community College policy, face masks were required?

Then, to make matters worse, Yardley continuously (deliberately?) mispronounced “Juneteenth” as “June TENTH,” then asked the board members “Is this how you pronounce it?” and then completely misrepresented the history that led to Juneteenth. And when people attempted to correct Yardley, Fantasia accused them of being bigoted.

By the way, there was a gathering at the Newton Green celebrating Juneteenth. Guess how many of our commissioners or state representatives in Sussex County showed up? That’s right, zero.

The commissioners completely ignored the attendees who carried Pride flags into the meeting room. Except for Chris Carney. He indicated that he intended to introduce a Pride Month proclamation. Gee whiz! The meeting was on June 23, Pride Month is almost over, and Carney did not even offer the proclamation as he hadn’t written it yet!

Fantasia also pushed through the appointment of Doug Steinhardt as the new county attorney. Steinhardt, the former chairman of the state Republican Party, is an attorney — in Warren County. What, there are no lawyers in Sussex County who wouldn’t jump at the chance to hold such a prestigious position? Oh, snap, that’s right, Steinhardt held fundraisers for Fantasia and Carney’s reelection campaign. Can anyone say “pay to play”?

This seems to make it obvious that the “special meeting” on June 16, which was supposedly to interview candidates for the county counsel position, was a sham.

As for the pipeline project, representatives of Local 825 spoke about the economic benefits approval of the project would bring to their members, limited as it would be. TGP representatives who were scheduled to attend were not there, claiming “car trouble.” Curiously, though, Fantasia allowed their PowerPoint presentation to be displayed on the county website. This is a clear misuse of taxpayer funds, as it appears the board is advocating for the gas company. Now, here’s the rub: the commissioners have no authority over the TGP expansion. The expansion affects Wantage in Sussex County and West Milford in Passaic County. The towns have stated their positions: Wantage is against the project, while West Milford, despite the potential environmental impact as well as the disapproval of their constituents, favors it. But it doesn’t matter. Approval of the project first lies with the Murphy administration, and the final go-ahead comes from the federal government. So the only conclusion to be drawn is 1) this is another photo op, and 2) a solicitation of campaign contributions.

I’d like to mention Sylvia Petillo, but she was not in attendance for the second consecutive meeting.

All of them are weak, ineffective leaders who are morally incapable of effective government. I am exempting Anthony Fasano for now, as I have not seen him cross any lines that the others have. Hopefully he continues to govern with a level mind.

But it is time for the rest of the board to go. And I don’t believe the county can wait for the election. They have to go.

Michael Schnackenberg

Newton