I have the audio of the borough manager’s evaluation on a thumb
drive. You can call to borrow it. I’ve listened three times, a really tough
meeting for everyone. I have to agree with another’s characterization
that life rings were thrown, not axes. You can hear and feel people’s
pain. You can feel the life rings in the questions asked; surely executive
session offered a life ring or two also. Bill Seward never grabbed one
wholeheartedly. His responses weren’t solid enough to assure the
assembly that he got their critiques, that he had a good sense of what he
would do differently. Had he answered otherwise, I’m sure the motion to
give him more time would have succeeded. Maybe he was too stunned.
I had high hopes. At his first assembly meeting, I asked him to bridge
the factions. No bridge. He sided with power players; maybe he had no
choice about that. Being fired brings up vulnerabilities. He wants to
blame the borough. Maybe he’s looking inside himself now. He could
be saying, “Thanks very much for bringing us back to Alaska,” or
could be saying, “Let’s see what else we have to offer Haines.” Though
certainly not consciously, I feel Bill led this meeting to its conclusion:
a combination of uninspiring responses with a medium performance
rating. Will he behave responsibly about the whole of all of that? Will
he find advantages and disadvantages in these events? Things will
settle. The Sewards will find their niche in Haines.
Evelyna Vignola