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Nielsen voted off Planning Commission Medford council removes embattled official By Jessica Smith A Medford official charged with several felony fraud and theft charges has lost his Planning Commission seat. Dennis Nielsen, 51, applied for re-appointment to his post before he was arrested in December for allegedly bilking a construction client out of more than $40,000. Thursday, the Medford City Council voted Seth Harriff and Thomas "Tod" Hunt to the commission�s two vacancies. None of the council members voted for Nielsen, who served four years on the commission. Nielsen still serves on two other city-appointed committees. Nielsen, indicted in the fraud case by a grand jury last week, said he wasn�t surprised by the council�s action. Aside from his legal troubles, Nielsen was on thin ice with the council. The council publicly admonished him a year ago for alleged "obtrusive, argumentative and disruptive" behavior. "I think there are (council members) that have some real strong feelings regarding my point of view and how it interferes with their agenda," Nielsen said. "I did the best I could," he added. "I�m not bitter." Though several council members insisted the reprimand did not affect their decision, Councilman John Michaels conceded he was concerned about Nielsen�s past behavior. "Weigh that against the excellent applicants we had," Michaels said. "I felt obligated to go with someone else." But Michaels echoed councilmen Ed Chun, Sal Esquivel, Bill Moore and Bob Strosser when he said Nielsen�s recent indictment was not a factor. "It (the council) felt those were the best candidates," Strosser said. Harriff is an information systems technician at Asante Health System. He ran unsuccessfully for appointment to the Ward 3 council seat now filled by Councilwoman Claudette Moore. Hunt is a Medford real estate agent. Though Nielsen is no longer a planning commissioner, he is on the city�s Site Plan and Architectural Commission and is a member of an urban renewal committee. It remains unclear what effect Nielsen�s arrest and indictment will have on his ability to serve the city. Nielsen and his business partner, Lee Mitchell Greenstone, face five counts of aggravated theft and four counts of first-degree forgery stemming from an investigation into their dealings as contractors. An arraignment is set for Feb. 15. Police believe the pair, who ran First Choice Construction, faked or altered invoices to increase the amount billed to Western Beverage Co. for construction work, allegedly defrauding the company of $40,000. In December, Nielsen said his company was working to "clarify" a billing dispute with Western Beverage. He denies he was involved in anything illegal and says he believes his partner also is innocent. Reach reporter Jessica Smith at 776-4481, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.