To the Editor:

Does anyone besides me wonder how they got all those “Closed” signs printed, distributed and posted only hours after the government shut down?

I worked in the government for 25 years in Washington. As the director of administration for a federal agency during that time, I became familiar with requisitions, bidding, awarding contracts. The procurement process is time consuming, with a variety of bureaucrats involved every step of the way. The simplest procurement takes weeks. It cannot happen in hours, or days.

Yet, in less than eight hours of the shutdown, professionally-printed 3- foot-by-4-foot signs appeared all over the country saying “this park, facility (with custom logos) is closed due to government shutdown.”

There has not been a government shutdown for many years. So these signs were designed, specifications were determined, signs were then requisitioned, bids were posted and vetted and government contracts were awarded, signage materials ordered and the signs manufactured and then distributed to thousands of locations … in less than 8 hours.

You may agree with me this shutdown was orchestrated and planned well in advance.

Millions of tax dollars were spent by the administration in this process. If you ask for it, you will find a paper trail leading directly to the White House.

Brent Ekstrom
Brunswick