Disagreement over opinion continues

By Jonathan Cook
Turley Publications Reporter

STURBRIDGE -Selectman Thomas Creamer questioned Interim Town Administrator Michael Racicot regarding a town counsel opinion Creamer said he never received.
Three of four members present at last week’s board of selectmen meeting confirmed that they did receive and read a Sept. 7 opinion from town counsel regarding the participation of Chairwoman Mary Blanchard in the search for a town administrator, a job for which her husband Charles Blanchard had applied.
Creamer said that he found it odd Racicot has repeatedly referenced town counsel’s opinion on other matters, but has “not referenced town counsel’s opinion once relative to this particular issue.”
Racicot replied the opinion came in on Labor Day, too late to include in the meeting packet. Instead, Racicot said he put a paper copy down in front of each member during the meeting.
“I know that I put that copy down there in front of you,” Racicot said. “I never referred to it again because it was never questioned.”
Creamer said the discussion had been ongoing for four months relative to the potential for conflict.
Creamer suggested Racicot should have included the opinion in the correspondence file for the following week.
The town counsel opinion in question states that a selectman whose spouse seeks appointment is prohibited from participating “in any way in the selection process of the Town Administrator.”
However, Mrs. Blanchard said, “there was no conflict. Once (Mr. Blanchard) applied he was in a pool of candidates, I had nothing to do with it.” At that time, the process was under the control of the first independent search committee.
She reiterated that she knew her husband was a finalist in the first round. “I was all set to recuse myself,” she said.
However, instead of delivering three finalists to selectmen, the first search committee resigned.
“It was mentioned that night that the finalists were told that their applications were going to remain in the pool. So when it came to this board to set up a new committee, I recused myself,” she said.
“From the moment that the second search committee started their deliberations . . . I had no input whatsoever, because it was a conflict at that time because my husband’s name was still in there.” Mrs. Blanchard also said that once the finalists were decided on by the second search committee, she realized her husband was not among them. “He was no longer a candidate,” she said, which is why she did not recuse herself then.
When Creamer noted the chairman participated in discussions about her husband’s complaint regarding leaks of confidential information, Blanchard said again, “at no time was I ever working under conflict.”