Because of his longstanding reputation with the board of trustees, Jim did not have to make the normally required presentation of his proposal; therefore, the board was accused of failing to follow due process.
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The board was accused of....
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The correct rewrite is: 'The board was accused of failing to follow due process because Jim, with his longstanding reputation with the board of trustees, did not have to make the normally required presentation of his proposal.' This maintains the causal relationship between Jim's reputation and the board's failure to follow due process.
because Jim, with his.