There is no doubt in my mind as well as the minds of many other citizens of Windham that a strange and evil smell has been emitting from the Windham Town Council chambers for many months. The following comments in this column are strictly my thoughts on what went wrong and why. Others may beg to differ but that’s their problem, not mine. What I feel the most is that during the past several weeks Windham has suffered a devastating image problem across the entire state of Maine and that is fortified by talking with friends across this state. And when the council itself is to blame for this predicament, then we, the people, must look at ourselves for the problems that we have allowed to happen.

The very first thing that we must do is determine what went wrong with the leadership of the past council. Why was it so impossible to see that it would self-destruct and why did some councilors not speak out against council leadership that obviously did something wrong, if not illegal? All one has to do is watch the past several council meetings and the sense of what was wrong is there, pure and simple. What I have a real serious problem with is that all of what has transpired will be swept under the same old rug, perhaps more by the town manager and attorney than the town council itself and therein lies the true problem of Windham. Who really is in charge of this town in the first place?

Since I don’t want to write an extremely long column, I will address just a couple of issues with our town councils, past and present. Although the last council meeting of the past council was described chaotic by its vice chairman, what actually transpired was the airing of anger by citizens shut out of the democratic process guaranteed by our charter and Constitution. There have been many allegations made that the Gang of Four (Busque, Noel, Hayman and Tracy) has influenced town business by placing their friends and business acquaintances on various committees. Maybe it’s time to form an impeachment committee through an ordinance and dig up the dirt, if there really is any.

Another thing that has really upset citizens is the interview with Noel by the editor in last week’s edition of this paper. I find it shocking that the former vice chair of the council would make this statement: “There are many things that occur which are not discussed with the full council…Council leadership may be the only councilors to know some information and they are expected to maintain its confidentiality.” If I read the council’s Rules of Procedure, all councils are to be informed which means none should be left out of the loop.

Do I expect the leadership of the new council to be any different? Let me put it this way. How many councilors were at the Republican caucus? Was it three or more because if not publicly announced, any meeting attended by three or more councilors is an illegal meeting of which there must be serious consequences but I am sure that would never happen in Windham (I mean the consequences, not the corruption). Did any of the councilors nominate someone to run for office? Remember that the Town Charter and Council Rules of Procedure don’t allow councilors to interfere in our election process.

As for the new leadership of the Town Council of Windham, good luck because you’re going to need it. One rule I have always followed is that respect is earned, not demanded. If the council chairperson wants to run the council in a professional manner, then he best learn what a professional manner is. During the first meeting of the new town council, you can witness the councilors calling other councilors only by their first names. I guess that means we, the citizens, can follow by example and do the same. All I ask is that when they go out together to drink beer or play golf is that they invite some of us common folks.

Lane Hiltunen lives in Windham.