– Aug. 10: McGreevy resigned.

– Aug. 14: Supervisor Roy Holzer announced on Facebook that he called a special meeting for Aug. 18 and that he would ask the town board to appoint Michelle Preston to fill McGreevy’s seat until it expires on Dec. 31, 2023.

– Aug. 18: During the meeting, Holzer and councilors Darin Forbes and Tina Terry Preston voted to appoint Michelle Preston to fill McGreevy’s seat. Follos voted against the motion, saying, “I vote for Stephanie Gates.” Gates, Michelle Preston and two others wrote letters to the town saying they wanted the job.

Follos said later, “This was not the right way to go about this, announcing it four days (before the special meeting), appointing someone just over a week after the resignation without other people being given the opportunity to express their interest. This was essentially announced and then ratified. There was no outreach, as far as public input. There could have been. There could have been many different ways to go about this.”

Holzer defended his decision, saying, “From my perspective, it was the only way to do it. It was just a few months ago she had circulated a petition, put her neck out to run for the position herself. And the reality is she got 170 votes.”

We don’t have a problem with Michelle Preston’s appointment. We’re sure she will do a great job for the town of Wilmington.

But we do have a problem with the process of the appointment. As Follos said, there was no dire emergency. The decision could have easily waited until the next town council meeting on Sept. 13 to give residents more time to express their interest in McGreevy’s seat.

The town board did nothing wrong legally, and politically they may survive this decision. But there was a better way to handle the appointment.