Opinion: Seemayer's Actions Embarrassed Brentwood

Brentwood resident Cheryl Emery submitted the following letter to U.S. District Judge Catherine D. Perry last Tuesday, and shared it as a Letter to the Editor with Maplewood-Brentwood Patch over the weekend. Perry is the judge assigned to 's case. Seemayer is scheduled for sentencing on Wednesday afternoon. Want to submit ? E-mail editor Ryan Martin at ryan.martin@patch.com.

Catherine D. Perry
Honorable District Court Judge

Dear Honorable Judge Perry,

I would like to express my thoughts regarding Mr. Chris Seemayer, former city adminstrator for the City of Brentwood.

As a citizen in the Brentwood community for the past 36 years, I have always been proud to say that I live in Brentwood. Since Mr. Seemayer has been found guilty of embezzlement, I am having a very difficult time feeling proud of my community. The actions of Mr. Seemayer have brought embarassment, lack of confidence and trust in our city officials, and feelings of  anger towards our city government. Our city finances were in his hands for the past 23 years or so, and he took advantage of that position.

Last, but not least, shame on our mayor and aldermen for not overseeing the city's internal operations more closely. That is their responsibility. This should be a valuable lesson to all those who work for the City of Brentwood, and who are also paid by the citizens of Brentwood. It is very crucial that our city government change from the "good ole boy" way of running our city government, to a much higher level of professional business practices. Afterall, the citizens of Brentwood deserve nothing less.

Sincerely,

Cheryl Emery