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Dear Editor,
I have resubmitted this letter with a correction. When I spoke at the May 21st Select Board meeting I inadvertently said “bribery” instead of “blackmail” because that is what I had mistakenly written in my text. I never caught the error and it has since been pointed out to me. The corrected version is below. For the record, here is a link to Mr. Haley’s comments.
At the May 21st Select Board meeting I made the following statement during public comment:
“I know every Select Board member sitting here is passionate about Reading. Unfortunately, at the February 17th Select Board meeting Chris Haley’s passion took us down a wrong path. At that meeting Mr. Haley recklessly and publicly pounced when he harangued his colleague, Mark Dockser, with unsubstantiated allegations that Mr. Dockser had played a nefarious role in former Chair Jackie McCarthy’s resignation. Mr. Haley’s irresponsible behavior continued in subsequent meetings when his accusations became suggestions of criminal activity, including blackmail and extortion. As a result Mark Dockser’s reputation was viciously and unfairly dragged through the mud.
For months Mr. Haley has been trying to out any perceived wrong-doing by his colleagues and other members of our community. His improper handling of the situation has fueled endless public speculation, and insinuations of extortion and blackmail are still present on local social media. Whatever anyone thinks about what happened, one thing is clear: Jackie McCarthy never wrote in any of her recent letters that she feels she was the victim of a crime.
Since the February 17th meeting Mr. Haley has made some attempts to explain his actions; however, a full public apology from him is long overdue. Moreover, Mr. Dockser deserves a sincere apology, not one filled with justifications, excuses, and deflection. I hope Mr. Haley will demonstrate some real leadership by apologizing for his behavior towards Mr. Dockser.
In addition to an apology for Mr. Dockser, the Select Board may still want to consider an investigation focused only on the actions of board members during the Town Manager search process, including the OML violation, as well as what happened after Ms. McCarthy’s resignation. Both could help our community heal from the events of the past several months. I know that Mr. Haley cares about Reading, just as we all do. And I believe we all want to move on to focus on the pressing issues facing our town.”
During Select Board liaison reports Mr. Haley responded, “I stand by each and every thing that I’ve ever said up here on the Select Board. Everything. I regret nothing. The only decision I ever regret making is giving up the EV parking spots outside of Christopher’s Restaurant. Um, because we lost a parking spot for that. Other than that I regret nothing else. Um, and I would just like to also reiterate what happened to Jackie McCarthy should never happen to another person in this town again and I think it’s crystal clear that a majority of the town agrees with me as well.”
I believe we can all agree that it is unacceptable for a person to feel threatened or a process to potentially be tainted. As I previously suggested, Board member conduct prior to Ms. McCarthy’s resignation can be reviewed, and if ethical offenses occurred then appropriate resolutions should be made.
Although unanswered questions remain, Ms. McCarthy does not appear eager to speak publicly on this matter any further. However, she did tell us that Mr. Haley’s crusade against Mark Dockser was based on incorrect information. Yet Mr. Haley has doubled down, unwilling or unable to recognize that his conduct towards Mr. Dockser was rash, unprofessional, and defamatory. It seems that on the Reading Select Board one can impeach a colleague’s reputation, make baseless allegations of criminal activity, and if proven wrong refuse to apologize or correct the record. That’s a dangerous precedent to set. If Mr. Haley won’t act, then I call on Chair Carlo Bacci to publicly acknowledge that any unethical and criminal behavior attributed to Mark Docsker by Chris Haley has been proven false.
Sincerely,
Carolyn Johnson
Thorndike St.
