OBSERVER Photo Dunkirk City Hall.

Two Dunkirk city appointees are worried their time may be up as the new year arrives today. Dave Campola, who serves as human resources director, and Vicki Westling, in an exempt position that works for the mayor, could be eliminated by the Common Council during its new year meeting.

In letters sent to the OBSERVER on Tuesday, both expressed their sentiments about losing positions.

Campola’s letter stated: “On Christmas day I received a call from Mayor (Wilfred) Rosas informing me that the newly elected Common Council has decided to eliminate several of the mayor’s appointed positions including the Director of HR which I have held since February of 2018.

“This decision made by the Councilman At Large elect and his ‘squad,’ is not based on poor performance or need but purely a political and personal loathing of the members the Mayors team.

The Councilman at Large Elect is on record calling for the resignation of several of the mayor’s appointees over the past year over issues that he does not understand due to their sensitivity and confidentiality.

“What is even stranger is the fact that on September 27, 2015, the Councilman at Large elect approached me at a benefit gathering insisting that I consider coming out of retirement because the mayor and the City needed an HR professional with my experience. In fact he distributed my resume to the Mayor and several other council members in order to secure my appointment.

“Therefore, one can only conclude that the new city council has an agenda that does not have the City’s best interest at heart but retribution for those who were just doing their jobs mandated by both federal and state law.

“These terminations will set the city back years in its quest to become a destination attraction instead of a struggling little city on Lake Erie that the new Councilman at Large Elect wants to go back to. Like it or not it’s the new council and their leaders’ ball. They will have to justify to residents of the City these terminations and the consequences that will follow.”

Westling’s letter notes that council members are eliminating her post because, as she writes, “they ‘hate’ me. They don’t know me, they have no idea of my job duties, my education, experience or skill level.”

She later concluded: “This journey has not been without its bumps, but working for Mayor Wilfred Rosas and being part of his confidential management team has been both professionally and personally rewarding. I wish him and the city of Dunkirk all the best in 2020.”

Her full letter is included in this link:

Westling says nixing post will bring ‘negative impact’

Today’s meeting begins at noon in City Hall.