Vendetta (Part 4)

At a recent meeting of the selectboard, two members - Turner and Flynn - again refused to pay the $200 legal bill submitted by the finance committee. Flynn even had the audacity to discuss the matter and vote on it even after a request was made for him to recuse himself.

When asked what the rationale for this refusal was, neither Turner nor Flynn could elucidate one. They only mentioned again that what the finance committee had done was "political" - whatever that means - and without regard to the fact that the Flynn allegation (which has no basis) was that the open meeting law had been violated, a charge that has nothing to do with the "political" endorsement that he doesn't like. Turner and Flynn don't seem to be able to distinguish between Flynn's open meeting complaint and his ethics complaint. That's not surprising since they don't really care. They just want to punish the members of the finance committee for being brazen.

One certainly suspects that their real agenda is to make the finance committee members so disgusted that they quit and Turner and Flynn can then appoint their cronies to the committee. They've already succeeded in one case. A member of the committee, after being subjected to Turner's and Flynn's tirade at the meeting, would have resigned on the spot but Turner wouldn't even recognize her, despite the fact that she was a town official. That itself is a big procedural no-no.

You might think that that attempted resignation was just a response to the heat of the moment. No such luck. She resigned in writing a day or so after the meeting. So the Turner/Flynn campaign has brought down its first victim.

It would be a disaster if Turner and Flynn's conduct results in the finance committee members quitting in disgust. I know most of them are considering it. It's the best finance committee Egremont has had in many years. If you know any of the members, please call them, give them your support and urge them not to succumb to this irresponsible vendetta.