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To the Editor,
Hypocrisy was on full blazing display last Tuesday, June 4, when the Select Board voted to go into Executive Session to discuss an Open Meeting Law complaint. This was the second OML violation complaint filed for alleged improper communication regarding the Town Manager selection process, in the wake of former Select Board member Ms. Jackie McCarthy’s resignation. The first was taken up by the Select Board on February 17, 2024.
While discussing if the Select Board should move into Executive Session to discuss the OML complaint at the February 17 meeting, Select Board member Chris Haley stated, “Everybody on this Board ran on transparency… I’m voting against Executive Session and anyone else who ran on transparency will join me.” Select Board Chair Carlo Bacci stated, “This is a unique situation, someone stepped down. I am not going into Executive Session as well.” Mr. Haley further stated, “I’m being consistent. I have voted against Executive Session (when reviewing OML complaints)… I’m perfectly capable of handling this right here, right now, so the public can see. I would like it to be in public so the public gets to see what happened.”
It appears that Mr. Bacci’s and Mr. Haley’s principled stance on transparency has gone out the window. Mr. Haley and Mr. Bacci, along with Ms. Murphy, voted to move into Executive Session. Hypocrisy on full display.
Mr. Bacci also decided, without the knowledge of the Select Board, to invite Mark Delaney, husband of Ms. McCarthy, into the Executive Session. The motion Mr. Bacci prepared but did not share with the Board in advance had the inclusion of a private citizen in Executive Session. Town Counsel Ivria Fried stated that it was “atypical” to invite private citizens into Executive Session.
Mr. Bacci and Mr. Haley need to explain why they disregarded transparency and the public’s right to see. They need to answer why they abandoned consistency in this unique situation. It’s one thing to run on transparency when one is seeking re-election or a leadership position on the Select Board, it is another to actually be transparent when it matters. Mr. Bacci and Mr. Haley threw transparency out the window. Hypocrisy on full display.
When Mr. Delaney left the Select Board Executive Session he was overheard saying “I didn’t give them what they wanted.” He was referring to Mr. Bacci and Mr. Haley. The Daily Times Chronicle reported that Mr. Delaney was asked if Select Board member Karen Herrick threatened Ms. McCarthy in any way, and Mr. Delaney stated, “I said absolutely not.” An Open Meeting Law complaint discussion apparently devolved from an investigation about communication to one of accusations of wrongdoing beyond the scope of the Open Meeting Law.
It appears that this OML complaint, filed by a supporter of Mr. Bacci, Mr. Haley, and Ms. Murphy, and the decision to invite Mr. Delaney into Executive Session, was just a pretext for Select Board Chair Bacci to conduct his own investigation into the resignation of Ms. McCarthy. The official Select Board investigation was closed when Ms. McCarthy declined to cooperate, but Mr. Bacci and Mr. Haley have not been able to pin any wrongdoing on their political opponents, so the outrageous and false accusations, the witch hunt, continues.
It’s unfortunate that the public was not able to hear this duscussion. I would like to see the minutes of the Executive Session released quickly, and I want them to reflect the full conversation that occurred, to make up for this complete lack of transparency on the Select Board Chair’s and Secretary’s parts.
Sincerely,
Angela Binda
Orchard Park Drive
