To the editor:

The recent noise surrounding the appointment of the finance director continues the long tradition in Portsmouth of not getting it right. Legal opinions are flying left and right.

This is not the first time the wrong Kool-Aid was offered to the public. In the matter of sewers, we were told that the DEM could legally force us to install them. Various lawyers in town embraced this position. These included the town administrator, a town council member, one of our local legislators, and a lawyer hired by the town to combat the DEM Notice of Violation. It also included DEM’s legal staff.

We later learned the price tag was $145 million, a figure that has surfaced publicly only in recent years. We were also never made aware of how much was spent on legal fees and engineering services.

Now we have a problem with turnover in the finance director position, a less-than-sterling applicant track record, and difficulty with the auditor. And the town council cannot interview the applicant.

This is like Donald Trump appointing his own Cabinet without congressional oversight.

Philip Driscoll

Portsmouth