LETTER: Henderson residents deserve better from cozy city government

After evaluating 16 qualified candidates to fill the seat vacated by Sam Bateman’s resignation, the Henderson City Council recently selected Dan Stewart, who has business and/or personal connections with every current member of the panel and is related to Mayor Andy Hafen by marriage (“Appointee’s connections carry the day,” Sunday Review-Journal). The council had the option to call an election, but opted against it.

Mr. Stewart may have been the most highly qualified of the 16 candidates — and, if so, the public would probably have elected him if he ran for office the old-fashioned way.

But the mayor and the council may have been afraid that the public might not share their stellar assessment of Mr. Stewart So why take the chance?

The city and Mayor Hafen specifically have been criticized previously for their hiring practices. In 2015 the Review-Journal reported that six of Mr. Hafen’s relatives were on the city payroll.

And just last September the city awarded a no-bid $30,000 contract to a political consulting and advertising firm whose clients include three current Henderson City Council members.

And who could forget that in 2011 the city turned to Josh Reid, the son of U.S. Sen Harry Reid to fill the position of Henderson city attorney, The fact that Mayor Hafen’s daughter had worked for Sen. Reid for eight years and that Sen. Reid had lobbied the mayor and at least one other council member to hire his son had nothing to do with the decision. Not surprisingly, the city was forced to relax its posted minimal qualifications for the position in order for Josh Reid to qualify. The council then voted 4-0 to hire Josh with one abstention.

It’s long past time for the citizens of Henderson to hold their public officials accountable. They deserve more.