Date: Tue, 2 Feb 2016 12:21:52 -0500
From: “John R Dykers”
Subject: Chair of Planning Board
Dear Tom West,
May I suggest that you, and maybe Gene, might send another post recommending Cecil Wilson as chair of the Planning Board comparing his qualifications and experience with that of George Lucier. (I can’t do this myself because I have not had the pleasure of knowing Mr. Wilson. I do know George Lucier and he is educated in engineering and environmental matters via his Chemistry studies, if I remember correctly.)
I IMAGINE that Mr. Wilson has much to recommend him as chair other than the color of his skin. Perhaps ‘people skills’ that make a good chair for meetings? Having been Chief of Staff at Chatham Hospital for several terms, I know I had to learn a lot about the trade off between letting everybody feel they had been heard on the one hand, and making decisions and finishing in a timely manner! Tain’t easy, and takes more than smarts and knowledge, which George has a lot of.
John Dykers
born white but just got old by living so long. Prefer ‘experienced’ for ‘old’, but recognize that some of us get old without absorbing much experience.. BTW, one of my favorite tools for evaluating social situations related to skin color is to ask “Suppose I had been born black; how would I be reacting?”