Tebben opens mouth, inserts foot

I was aghast and terribly disappointed in the comments Councilman Tom Tebben made during the Oct. 6 Lima City Council meeting when human resource manager Vince Ozier was giving an overview on the administration's work on the civil service rules and proposed changes to the rule of three.

The administration, civil service board, the HR committee and the charter review committee have all worked hard on trying to make the system more equitable and open by allowing more "qualified" people to be interviewed. It was terribly disingenuous of Mr. Tebben when he made the comment that to do so would undermine the process and lower the standards to allow minorities (women and African-Americans) to have an opportunity to be interviewed.

I, personally, don't want the Tebben No. 1 to necessarily show up when I need assistance. I want someone who is qualified and with common sense to handle the situation. Good test-takers do not necessarily make the best employees. Mr. Tebben's comments were reckless, careless and undermining what everyone wants to do to allow more flexibility in the process. His comments were reckless at best and show a racial overtone that has and is plaguing this community at worst.

Ray Magnus is the 1st Ward councilman in Lima.