Disgraceful — the first adjective that came to mind after hearing of and reading the recent account regarding the nomination and vote for the position of city attorney.

I would submit that if any reasonable person were to compare the track record/qualification of Everett Sanders and Robert Latham, it would be impossible to justify the selection of Sanders over Latham. It is also impossible to fathom that on the first day of office, that an adversarial relationship would be started with a man who was overwhelmingly voted into office by both black and white citizens alike to serve as our mayor. Again, the only way I can characterize this behavior is disgraceful.

While this letter has been addressed to the entire board of aldermen, I would like to specifically address Ms. Arceneaux-Mathis.

My family and I live in your district and as one of your constituents, I have to tell you that you are not representing either my interests, nor those of this city by engaging in this type of behavior. I recognize that the current government structure is a weak mayor/strong board. Irrespective of that structure, I believe that the entire board has the responsibility to support/respect our new mayor and to back his leadership. The actions taken during the July 1 meeting fall woefully short of that ideal.

A decision regarding the position of city attorney should only be made based on qualifications, and not filtered through the lenses of politics or race. The people of Natchez deserve better.

In the spirit of complete disclosure, I did support Darryl in his campaign and did so because of what I saw as his superior qualifications to serve as mayor and his sincere desire to serve every citizen of Natchez, regardless of race.

My request: The position of city attorney is certainly one of the most important in city government. Mr. Sanders does not have a good track record, and his past performance in that role has not served this city well. Why would we want a repeat of that performance?

I am asking that this matter be reconsidered by the entire board and that someone with the proper qualifications be appointed to that position. If you feel that Mr. Sanders is more qualified, I would like to see a side-by-side comparison done between the two men that have been nominated. I think that comparison would overwhelmingly support someone other than Mr. Sanders for that position.

 

Mike Blattner is a Ward 1 resident of Natchez.