Post by Guest Author #1
A very interesting and questionable series of events occurred at the last council meeting of 2025 in December. Longtime 5 term council member Michael Seltzer had announced his retirement in November, not a surprise given the sale of his primary residence this past summer but the events surrounding his replacement was questionable and consistent with the last council vacancy a year ago when council elevated a virtual unknown and spurned longtime volunteer and Planning Commissioner Al Ludwig in a contentious 3 night marathon of nominations and voting.
One year later and similarly, this council anointed yet another against the backdrop of a number of candidates one of which was yet another longtime Planning Commissioner Stuart Wooters even though President David Goldberg opined he was clearly the most suited, experienced and ready to serve candidate. This council bypassed one applicant who ran for President receiving hundreds of votes, and three others who brought years of Village residency at the very least.
Indeed the candidate chosen had nothing to offer in the way of past volunteerism, lived in Franklin for just three years and was unknown to all but the three newest council members.
Further, seeming to be orchestrated as a voting block, clearly an open meetings violation and additionally it appears that the candidates wife had taken aim at the departing Seltzer just a few months ago, spectacularly in an effort to sully his reputation by suggesting some financial impropriety over a lease arrangement that was created to fill a vacancy in the Village and an introduction between the landlord and potential tenant in which both parties were grateful to Seltzer for initiating and verifying there was nothing specious about the arrangement.
Similar charges from one other Villager seemed to focus on Seltzer since his home sale, questioning his continuing on council among other attempts to distract from the debacle of the previous months in which an entire Village administrative staff resigned over the overreaching of new trustees and interference in their duties after a bombshell annual budget meeting in June.
While Seltzer was intent on seeing through the process of replacing the administrative staff intending to depart his role by years’ end, the seemingly coordinated personal attacks now appear orchestrated given the circumstances and further exacerbated. Once his departure was announced Trustee Sahli announcing simultaneously that he too would be departing council but not until his current term expires in 11 months. One would wonder why this announcement be made if not to further distract
from the marital question that has dogged he and wife Angela Sulaka who had not provided the transparency of this until it was revealed during that heated June budget meeting and have been on defense ever since. Announcing a planned departure 3 years into a 4 year term is historic, and unusual to say the least and it fits a number of historic elements of this most inexperienced council ever which includes the Dec 2024 3 night marathon to replace a departing trustee, the June 2025 budget vote of 4-3 for approval when every previous budget vote was 7-0 and then finally yet another departure filled with a seemingly least qualified volunteer known only to those who nominated and then voted on his passage (including the departing Sahli) with the President providing the 4th affirmation only knowing that the other most qualified and experienced candidate was apparently not favored by the newer members.
Villagers should be mindful and prepared in the 2026 election where there will be 4 seats to fill and the most experienced member of Franklin council are being replaced by those who have at the very least, only minimal residency and either limited or no previous Village volunteerism in their resumes…
Franklin Villagers 