Creamer, Garieri swap accusations

By Jonathan Cook
Turley Publications Reporter

STURBRIDGE– A letter from spurned town administrator candidate Charlie Blanchard sparked a verbal firestorm among selectmen that featured accusations of lying and tampering with the search process.
In the letter, Blanchard said his information to the committee was submitted confidentially, but was leaked by “an unidentified source.”
Also, comments made by the new Search Committee Chairman James Erhard indicating that candidates had been screened for a conflict of interest suggested to Blanchard that his application was judged on a different standard. Blanchard maintains, with the supporting opinion of town counsel, that his application is free from conflict, even though his wife is the select board chair.
He asked the Board of Selectmen to “conduct a full investigation into this very serious violation of my rights.”
Selectman Scott Garieri said he had a problem with confidential information that had no business being in public.
“I have a serious, serious problem with that. I think it’s a breach of public confidence. I think it’s absolutely despicable that anyone would breach private information,” he said.
Selectman Tom Creamer responded to Garieri.
“Do you want to go on record as the individual who disclosed information to the press? Because the information that came relative to who the finalist was,” continued Creamer turning to Blanchard in the audience, “Mr. Blanchard, certainly did not come from me. It came from two members of the town administrator search committee, and one of them just gave an eloquent dissertation as to how upset he was about those names being released when he in fact is one of those sources who provided that information.”
Blanchard, however, was not naming suspects of the leak. He said he was asking the board to investigate a breach of his rights.
Garieri then denied Creamer’s accusation. “His information was not released by me,” he said. Garieri said he does not know who was responsible for the leak.
At that, despite Chairman Mary Blanchard’s efforts to stop him, Creamer said, “I’m not going to sit and listen to someone lie to the public.”
A moment later Creamer added, “What I will not do is sit here and watch you continue to misrepresent the fact that you were one of the sources for the names that got released to the press.”
Garieri shot back – over efforts by Chairman Blanchard to stop the back and forth – “Mr. Creamer, I’m not going to sit here and listen to you create lies.”
Next, the back and forth ventured into search committee tampering. Creamer was first. “From the very beginning of the process it has been tainted . . . by what I view as committee tampering executed by (Mr. Blanchard) and Mrs. Blanchard.”
Creamer then suggested there was an effort to bring him in on the plan. “In fact, Mrs. Blanchard did ask me if I was interested in getting on the search committee and I viewed that at the time as suspect because we had a friendly relationship. And I looked at that as a possibility to ensure there were friendly individuals on that committee and I turned her down.”
Chairman Blanchard had heard enough. “Mr. Creamer can you cut it out right now.”
But, as before, Creamer ignored the Chair’s authority to direct the conversation.
“Well you know what I think we should cut out? I think what this town should stop doing is sitting here and letting this entire process be run by the Blanchards.”
When the chair got her chance, she began “this nonsense, and I say nonsense, Tom, about the Blanchards, I am one of a five member board. I follow everything to the letter of the law.”
She noted there is ample legal opinion that she has not crossed the line.
At that point, the board approved, with Chairman Blanchard’s abstention, to forward Mr. Blanchard’s letter to the search committee.
However, the embers of the conflict still glowed and momentarily flared up again. Again, it began with Creamer accusing the Blanchards of “confronting and challenging” his wife on an unnamed issue.
And before it was all said and done, Chairman Blanchard accused Creamer of tampering with the second search committee, which he replied was to counter Mrs. Blanchard’s involvement.
“Anyway, let’s move on,” said the chair. “It’s never going to be settled.”