I am not criticizing the newly-hired E-911 center director. I do not know this man, and have no reason to think he will not do a fantastic job. This is not about him.

That said, Nicole Vera, the interim acting director since November, has been the deputy director for at least two years. She is a knowledgeable supervisor and dispatcher with approximately eight years of experience. It is very unfortunate that she did not get proper consideration for the director’s position. She has proved that she can effectively hold the E-911 director position and run the center.

I have been employed in the workforce for over 35 years; I know of many women in positions of authority. It is a proven fact that women can do so much more than hold clerical/administrative positions — and before anyone takes offense to this, I’ve been an admin assistant for 33 years. 

Could it be that the majority male E-911 Commission members don’t want a woman in charge? Could it also be that someone wanted “one of their own” in this position? In as far as an informal vote being taken in an unpublicized meeting,  this reeks of the “good old boy” system that we in Vicksburg and Warren County are all too familiar with.

Jean Thomason Johnston

Vicksburg