Williamstown Select Board Members Rally to Defense of Chair
An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the year when two members of the Select Board's terms will be ending.
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Most members of the Select Board last Monday pushed back against some harsh criticism of the panel's chair.
Janice Loux, a frequent critic of the Select Board and town officials, used the public comment portion of the Feb. 14 meeting to accuse Andrew Hogeland of being dictatorial toward his board colleagues and of placing blame on the town's diversity committee for failures to create mechanisms for reporting diversity, equity and inclusion work that were required in an article passed by town meeting in August 2020.
Loux charged Hogeland with minimizing racism and sexism.
"The whole concept and idea when you spoke at the last [Diversity, Inclusion and Racial Equity] meeting and your references tonight spoke to the idea of, 'Well, I didn't think we were going to write things down. And I didn't think the town voted on making those reports that are in Articles 36 and 37 in their requirements,' " Loux told Hogeland.
"You have an obligation. It was the will of the people to put that training together, and we should not be doing it haphazardly. We should be putting money towards it. It is not DIRE's job. And if anybody had failings around all this, it was the Select Board. It was your job to make sure there were policies. It was your job to make sure there was a police force that wasn't doing the things that they did. It was your job. It wasn't DIRE's job. DIRE did their job."
Loux went on to say she thinks Hogeland runs roughshod over the Select Board itself in his capacity as chair.
"I get the sense it's the Andy Hogeland Show, and, 'I'm doing this, and I'm doing that,' " Loux said. "I don't get a sense from my view – I'm not speaking for any Select Board members, this is my observation – that they're well involved in this. It's not a one-man show."
Jeffrey Johnson said he has a good and open relationship with Hogeland.
"I talk to Andy whenever I need to," Johnson said. "The man you see in front of you [in meetings] is not the man you'll meet offline, and what I mean by that is there are multiple times I think every board member has encouraged people to come and have private meetings.
"Specific to the DIRE meeting, Andy's talked to me. Andy asked for criticism, constructively. He wants to learn. What more do you want than that?"
Johnson served on the DIRE Committee prior to being elected to the Select Board last spring and continues to serve on the equity committee as its representative from the Select Board.
Jane Patton joined Johnson in defending Hogeland, mentioning how difficult it has been to chair the board in the months following revelations of sexist and racist behavior among members of the Williamstown Police Department. And she implied that Hogeland's willingness to take on different Select Board initiatives might create a misperception in the community about the board's dynamics.
"I would like to say that over whatever number of years we've both been on the Select Board, we have not always agreed," Patton said of Hogeland. "We have had some pretty challenging moments, early on. I don't see you as trying to be some kind of authoritarian, 'I've got this all handled,' chair.
"You're probably taking on way too much, and you're always willing to take on more. It is easy to, through your own filters, see things in different ways. …. I support the way [Hogeland's] doing this, and if I don't, I think you know that you'll hear from me."
Another member of the board was less complimentary.
"I've had struggles with the chair when it comes to agenda items, and it hasn't always worked out," Wade Hasty said. "So I can understand if anyone on the board feels that they have some friction. Hopefully it will buff out in ‘23."
Hogeland's current term on the Select Board ends in May 2023.
Hugh Daley, who also would be up for re-election in 2023 after first being elected to the Select Board along with Hogeland in May 2014, was the first member of the board last Monday to react to Loux's original comments. He said her tone in the meeting would discourage other members of the community from stepping up to serve on public bodies.
"I really dislike the idea that somebody would go out of their way to personally … attack an individual member in that way," Daley said. "Everybody here donates their time and expertise to do this job, and when we make it look like that type of job, who is going to want to do this?
"That doesn't mean there shouldn't be accountability, but I will tell you there's not a single member of this board who doesn't take this job seriously, that doesn't take the problems that occurred – the great majority of which did not happen under this board but were revealed to this board – we took it all to heart and have been working to fix this stuff."
Daley went on to say that Loux's comments on Monday provided an example of how people ought not engage in civic life.
"We have to treat each other better," Daley said. "We're in this together. I used to say: We're all in the same boat, we just have to start rowing in the same direction. Now I keep saying: We're all in the same boat, we need to stop drilling holes in it.
"Work together. Be positive. We can improve. We are improving."
Nat Romano spoke from the floor of the virtual meeting to support Daley's assessment.
"Disrespecting people through personal attacks at meetings, and this is not the first time this has happened … only disrespects the fabric of our democratic processes," Romano said. "It discourages active community engagement. It makes other people feel they shouldn't speak up because, what if their perspectives are not valued?
"That is really damaging to our community."
Hasty's reaction was that the board needs to hear more criticism, not less.
"I don't shy away from negative feedback, and I hope no one on the board does," Hasty said. "I prefer negative feedback over no feedback, which is often what we're getting from the town."
Hogeland could be seen nodding as Hasty made that point.
Hasty then continued, "I also caution the board not to participate in the actions that are encouraged to curb … personal animosity toward any particular person, to stop, to cease, to limit."
Ironically, Monday's meeting began with an announcement from Hogeland that nomination papers are available from the town clerk for the two Select Board seats and seven other offices that will be on the May town election ballot.
But, then again, irony abounded at the session.
Hogeland also started the night by announcing a new policy he borrowed from the current chair of the DIRE Committee. He said public comment would be limited to three minutes per speaker and that if the speaker engaged in personal attacks, they would receive a warning from the chair; if the warning is ignored, the speaker then would be prevented from making public comment at the next board meeting.
At the end of her remarks later in the meeting, Loux said, "Go ahead and punish me, but I will never stop." But Hogeland did not interrupt Loux's testimony to admonish her against making personal attacks, nor did he cut off Loux or any other speaker on Monday after three minutes; she spoke for about five. And when Loux was through, neither Hogeland nor another board member suggested she would be subject to a prohibition from speaking at the next Select Board meeting.
Ironically, while Loux criticized Hogeland for his treatment of the DIRE Committee, three people that spoke at the meeting who have served on that panel, Johnson, Patton and Andi Bryant, defended Hogeland. And the public comment rules that prompted Loux to say Hogeland wants to, "punish those who don't speak the way you want," were adopted from rules instituted by the current DIRE Committee chair.
The final irony of the evening was provided by Johnson, just after the board adjourned.
"Happy Valentine's Day, everybody," Johnson said as the meeting ended.
Tags: DIRE,
