Middletown Human Rights Commission to be "Reconstituted"

I have received word that there will be some changes made to the Middletown Human Rights Commission (MHRC)as well as the Safety Commission after the February, Middletown Township Committee meeting.

It seems as though the Mayor and Deputy Mayor have decided to downgrade the commission. The MHRC will no longer be called a "commission", instead it will be delegated as an "advisory" board, there by limiting its powers. 

What is interesting about the timing of this decsion is that the changes to the MHRC will not take place until after the February 4, 2009 conciliation meeting with the NJ Division on Civil Rights, which found "Probable Cause" that Middletown (mayor & attorney) retaliated and discriminated against former Chairperson Carolyn Schwebel by removing her from MHRC a year ago.

Below is an excerpt from email to members of the MHRC from a felllow commissioner :

Dear Fellow Commissioners,

First, I would like to wish everyone and their families a prosperous, healthy, and Happy
New Year.

I received a letter today concerning the Middletown Human Rights Commission and another letter concerning the Safety Council which I am also a member. Both letter read alike. 

Appointments to both have been delayed until the Township Committee Meeting in February 2009.

...The pertinent language of the letter is as follows:

[...The Township has recently chosen to review your board membership and structure for future service to the Township. Due to this review process appointments to your board will be held over until our February 2009 Regular Meeting.

You will be notified of action to be taken on your appointment prior to the February
meeting. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me at your
convenience. ...].

This just seems like another example of the abuse of power that the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Middletown seem to think is within their rights. The mayors seems to think that they have some kind special powers over the Township, when in actuality they do not.

The Mayors and Deputy Mayors are appointed by their fellow committee members to those positions to act as figureheads to facilitate township business, they have no more or less powers to act then the other members of the township committee.

It will be interesting to watch the outcome of this following the February township meeting.