Braddock residents voice frustrations with borough leadership
BRADDOCK, Pa. (KDKA) — After a few Braddock Borough officials resigned, council members voted to fill some of the empty positions on Thursday.
With no police chief, no borough manager and an often-closed borough building, accusations have been swirling around for weeks.
Council members appointed a new borough manager and an interim police chief on Thursday during a meeting. But before council members voted, Braddock residents voiced their frustrations over the state of the borough.
"Whatever you're doing wrong, re-direct your GPS to get it right. We look horrible as a town," one resident said.
"Heartbreaking to hear and see some of the things, and that's why I'm here," resident Annette Baldwin said.
Many borough residents are upset. They spoke out Thursday about how disappointing it is to see their small borough struggling like this.
Last month, the new council forced out the police chief and borough manager, whose assistant then resigned citing a hostile work environment.
Braddock Borough Council President Dominique Davis-Sanders said he could not speak about a lot of the accusations, but he said the accusations were not true.
Council voted to appoint Glenn Terry as the new borough manager and Jamie Speelman as the interim chief of police.
"Everyone wants new. But for you to have new, you have to get rid of some of the old, and we've done that and we're building back the way we should for Braddock. We need people aligned with us and people who are going to move Braddock forward," Davis-Sanders said.
Residents and former council members are still feeling uneasy.
"We need to work together because if you don't, this whole thing is going to fall apart. It began doing that. You got to know how to talk to people, you're not higher than anybody else," said Kevin Henderson, a former council member.
The new borough manager hopes to offer a fresh start for the borough.
"I know we have a lot of work to do. I look forward to rebuilding, helping to rebuild it. It's not going to be a one-man show. It's going to be a team effort. Not just the people in office but the community," Terry said.
He said the council plans to fill more positions and will host a meet-and-greet event in the community next month.