Karla Thomas, former Human Resources Commissioner for the City of Buffalo, is fighting back after Mayor Brown started termination proceedings against her. The City's human resources group paid $2M in health insurance premiums for 170 dead employees under Thomas's leadership. Despite a chorus of people calling for her termination since January, Mayor Brown chose not to fire Thomas until September 2nd. But she's still not really fired. She's still collecting paychecks on her $91,374 annual salary until the outcome of an appeal hearing she has requested.
HT BuffaloPundit
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And she's not going down without a fight.
Thomas sent an open letter to Mayor Brown to various media outlets. In her letter, Thomas blames Steve Casey for her termination calling the Deputy Mayor a cancer. The full text of Thomas's letter to Mayor Brown is below. Perhaps the best sentence of the letter is "the final destination of this journey we have embarked on is a place called disaster." If Thomas does wind up terminated, she can probably land a job at Hallmark.
Dear Byron,This letter is not intended for Mayor Brown. It is addressed to the man whose leadership I have followed for over two decades. Its' intent is not to be mistaken as malicious, but to be accepted with the love it is being sent. On behalf of myself and our community, I am appealing to the sensibilities of the man who this community entrusted their safety and caretaking through the electoral process.Byron, there is a cancer in your cabinet. Its name is Steve Casey. His presence in your camp has derailed the direction of your purpose. It has inflicted pain and confusion on innocent people and employees and brought organized chaos to your leadership. His quest to become powerful through your anointing must be stopped.If there was ever one thing our peers always believed about you, Bryon, is that you were fair. In evaluating the up and down side of a situation, you always opted for what was right. That was your leadership style, pre-Casey.Your decision however, to fire me without due process and refusal to pay out the remainder of my term is reflective of Deputy Mayor Casey's influence on your decision making. This decision serves no real purpose nor is it politically prudent. It is, however, definitely politically motivated. The timing of my termination (right before Golembek's primary) speaks volumes about the real purpose behind your actions. You simply gave in to some heavy political pressure from people who had nothing to do with getting you re-elected. I am respectfully requesting you return to the leadership style that got you elected Masten District Councilman, NYS Senator and Mayor of the City of Buffalo.The Social Security Death Master has been given God status. The $800,000 spent on health care premiums for dead retirees is not lost. It was stolen by those families who knowingly used insurance they were not entitled to. Our Comptroller should be trying to get that money back from those families - not trying to help fire me.Relations with our labor unions are greatly improved. The new Director of Compensation and Benefits is making phenomenal strides in finding and correcting decades old systemic problems with service delivery and overall division functioning. The Civil Service Division is operating efficiently and the Personnel Division is gearing up to conduct collective bargaining agreement training. All of these things have occurred under my watch. I have no more business being fired than Casey does remaining your Deputy Mayor.Our detractors are ecstatic watching us prepare to commit suicide on the spirit of our beloved Grassroots legacy and do irreparable damage to any opportunity of dreams you may have for higher office. I besiege you - look for an exit route for Steve Casey. As long as he breathes in your cabinet, it will be on life support, leaving our city gasping for air as he continues to negative impact your leadership with clandestine poison.The final destination of this journey we have embarked on is a place called disaster. Neither one of us will arrive safely if you opt to make this trip to the end of the road. While the outcome for me may impact my employability, it will leave an indelible mark on your political career.Byron, the best chemotherapy you can give your advisory cabinet is to change its composition. Give it a make over. Replenish it with diversity and some good old fashioned Buffalo born and bred loyal statisticians. Then and only then will this community's confidence be restored in your leadership of the City that loves you, embraced you and that God has strategically placed you at the head of.Respectfully submitted,Commissioner Karla Thomas
Is there a reason why she chose to use a center margin?
hear, hear. it has no place outside of wedding invitations.