file photo by Boyd Loving
To the Editor:
Recent headlines reported on the Mahwah councilwoman who was so angry at her mayor that she cursed and gave an inappropriate gesture which was directed at him at a public meeting. As bad as that was, it was over in a moment and was nothing compared to the harassment Ridgewood Councilwoman Susan Knudsen was made to endure at the April 8 meeting.
Right before public comments, Mayor Paul Aronsohn invited the village labor attorney to the microphone to answer questions related to the ordinance to be voted on that evening. The attorney then proceeded to verbally attack Ms. Knudsen for 47 uninterrupted minutes. It was clear that the mayor was complicit in this outrage as no one intervened to stop her.
It was a terrible thing to watch and our tax dollars paid for this debacle. Ms. Knudsen was, as one resident said, “grace under fire.”
Later on, another resident stated that she had witnessed the mayor and the village manager screaming at Ms. Knudsen at the close of the previous meeting. They denied it even though another council member was present to hear it.
To add insult to injury, it appeared that an ethics violation was to be brought against Ms. Knudsen for responding to her attackers. While this did not happen, I question the motive for even putting it out there.
Ms. Knudsen’s crime seems to be that she sought more information regarding the proposed ordinance so that she could make a better informed decision. I don’t know if what happened at the meeting was illegal but it was certainly against any rules of order that decent people operate under.
I believe our mayor owes Ms. Knudsen a public apology at the very least and he must discontinue the town civility meetings immediately. It is the height of hypocrisy to hold these meetings and a clear case of the pot calling the kettle black.
Linda McNamara
Ridgewood
A fair commentary — thank you posting JJ
the three don’t like when any one don’t flow with them. people are not trusting them any more. it is going to be great when they are gone.
Hey Linda, what were the points made by the labor lawyer?
Why don’t you watch the video of the council meeting. 1:20.
Great letter Linda. You are completely on target.