Generally speaking, I am not a person that subscribes to conspiracy theories. I’m more of an Occam’s Razor guy; the simplest explanation is often the most likely to be correct.
I’m skeptical when I hear Trump go on ad naseum about “The Swamp” and “The Deep State”. In my experience, most government employees are good people that are drawn to public service for a variety of reasons, but almost never for the money, because candidly, the pay isn’t always that great.
The idea that there is a vast conspiracy of government employees working in concert to slow-play or outright deny the changes Trump sought to make is unbelievable to me. The US government can’t even operate out in the open with that level of efficiency or precision, much less in the shadows.
The notion of a Deep State in Hopkinton is even more absurd, but I’m left scratching my head as I reflect on the past two weeks in our town.
Before I don my tinfoil hat, let’s establish a few facts.
Media Landscape in Hopkinton
In our town there are three media outlets of consequence: The Hopkinton Independent, eHop, and HopNews.
The Hopkinton Independent is funded by advertisers, as any reader will note from the barrage of ads that hit you when you load one of their stories. But they’re also paid by Town Hall. Between 2020 – 2023 taxpayers dolled out nearly $30,000 to the Independent for advertising programs. It’s bad business to criticize your customers, so it makes sense that anything controversial at Town Hall is off limits to the Indy. Thus the blackout in coverage of the former Parks and Recreation Director under investigation for embezzlement, any objective analysis of the true cost of the Elmwood School replacement project, coverage of the criminal history of an elected member of the School Committee, and 2023s mass exodus of town employees. Their coverage of the Deputy Jay Porter matter is limited to courtroom events and there was relatively little mention of the Sgt. Tim Brennan drama and the subsequent Select Board recall effort, both of which were objectively big stories in town.
In June 2023, the chair of the Hopkinton Democratic Town Committee, Darlene Hayes, was exposed by HopNews for newsjacking the May ’23 election for School Committee. She was subsequently forced to resign from the chairmanship and other positions in town where she held elected office. Up to that point, Ms. Hayes worked for the Hopkinton Independent, although it’s unclear what her role was.
Planning Board member Elyse Mihajloski is the President of eHop and Select Board member Amy Ritterbusch is the Secretary. For the most part, eHop plays it pretty straight, and reports important information on how to register to vote, town meeting articles, and other government-related issues. They follow the Indy’s lead from a coverage standpoint. It appears that to eHop, if it’s not in the Independent, it’s not news.
HCAM-TV provides valuable, nonpartisan coverage of many government and school events, including athletics. They are funded partially by revenue from cable TV operators and through the generosity of voters at Annual Town Meeting.
And then there’s HopNews. We don’t offer as many stories as the Independent, and our elbows are often sharper, but we try to bring the information that matters to you, your family and your wallet.
The Effect of Article 2 on Political Parties
At the Special Town Meeting in November 2023, voters approved Article 2, a Citizen-led Home Rule Petition that eliminated partisan elections in Hopkinton. There was much dissent and debate on the article from those in attendance. HDTC chair Amy Groves and Select Board Chair Muriel Kramer spoke against it, as did the Hopkinton Republican Town Committee Chair Jim Mirable. Their concerns were myriad, but chiefly that without the party caucuses, Hopkinton risked not having a full slate of candidates. This turned out to be wrong – every office on the May 20 ballot has at least one candidate running.
It was obvious from our coverage that HopNews supported this effort, and I argued in favor of it twice that night before town meeting voters.
In no uncertain terms, Article 2 neutered the political parties in town. Until the Home Rule Petition becomes law on Beacon Hill, technically the parties can still caucus, but thankfully both decided against it this year. As they have done in recent years, the HDTC still put forth their candidates in McSweeney and Mimmo, and supported them financially, but both candidates have chosen not to include the word “Democrat” on their signs and there won’t be any indication of party affiliation on the ballot.
This is the political equivalent of Nike selling sneakers without the Swoosh. The brand of the party has vanished, and with it whatever halo effect it brought.
The Hopkinton Republican Town Committee, which can’t seem to get organized, didn’t put anyone up this election.
It is my belief that the political class in Hopkinton was deeply embittered by HopNews’ support of Article 2, and understandably so.
She’s Here, She’s There…
The Real Housewives of Hopkinton is a Facebook group managed by Darlene Hayes, Patricia Duarte and Connie Wright, who now lives elsewhere. While they don’t offer original content, about 4,000 women in town subscribe to this group (and their estranged sister, the Hopkinton Uncommon). Both offer a mix of feel-good posts, events and happenings, with the occasional rant thrown in.
It struck me as odd that there was very little discussion on RHOH about Sgt. Tim Brennan’s Loudermill hearing and his subsequent firing. The content is moderated primarily by Ms. Hayes, who also was uncharacteristically quiet on the matter. I suspect this is because of the backlash the Select Board faced from the decision, and Hayes was personally affronted by the recall effort. Of course she would be; all five members of the Select Board are Democrats, and were anointed by her. “It really is true that I’m the kingmaker,” she once told me.
Although she is prone to hyperbole, I believe in this case she wasn’t exaggerating. For many years the road to political office ran through the HDTC.
And though she shied away from public events following her series of tortured resignations, come Marathon (and election) season, suddenly she’s back. From a Galentine’s weekend in Newport with Kramer and Mary Jo Lafreniere, to dinner and drinks at Bill’s and TJ’s with the entire board, to a formal evening at the Greek Consulate, Darlene is everywhere. She’s the Roy Kent of Hopkinton.
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with hanging out with your friends, and Darlene would probably say she’s always been here. My complaint is with the Select Board members. It’s election season and optics matter. As my mother used to say, You are the company you keep.
Misogyny versus Racism
On April 4, I published an op-ed entitled “Enough mansplaining Already”. This was a reaction to what I perceived as disrespectful behavior by Vice Chair Shahidul Mannan and member Irfan Nasrullah toward Chair Kramer during a Select Board meeting. Both men were rude to her, a sentiment echoed by several readers, who took the time to leave comments.
I’ve watched nearly every Select Board meeting in the past 16 months. This was not the first time I’d seen it.
Subsequently the article was shared on Facebook, where someone who doesn’t live in Hopkinton – and may not exist at all – left a comment that Mr. Mannan construed as a racial attack. He then made a statement during the April 16 Select Board meeting:
“In recent weeks and months I have endured threats, harassment, and racial profiling,” he said.
Mannan described an incident where he was stopped at a recent event and was asked “if and why he was still living in this town”.
“These actions have been made all the more poignant by their visibility in the local media, a town newspaper, and solidified or normalized by the silence against such injustices.”
The next day he confirmed through text message to Hopkinton Independent editor Jerry Spar that his comment about local media was directed at HopNews.
HopNews unequivocally condemns racism and hate speech in any form, a position we reasserted in a subsequent op-ed. I tried four times to contact Mannan but he ignored me. I also contacted the Hopkinton Freedom Team and asked them to collaborate with me on a summit on race in Hopkinton. They denied my request, stating they are too busy.
His statement was false and defamatory, and through our attorney, we sought a retraction from Mannan. Instead, he referred the matter to the town’s attorneys (so we all paid, sorry readers). Town Counsel clarified that Mannan was referring to Facebook, not HopNews.
But let’s back this up. When he came across that offensive Facebook comment, how hard would it have been to shoot me a text to tell me about it? We’ve had several text exchanges in the past, have met for coffee, and had what I consider to be a friendly relationship. He advised my high school daughter on a project she’s working on for the town.
Instead, it became a full court press, beginning with Mannan’s speech before the Select Board on April 4, continuing on with a press release from the town on April 30 recommitting “to the 2020 Hopkinton Pledge, Principles and Actions on Systemic Racism“, a statement from the Hopkinton Public Library, Nasiba Mannan and others taking to public forum on April 30 to complain about HopNews, and of course, breathless and continuing coverage in the Hopkinton Independent, all linking back to a story in which they disabused themselves of facts and implied that HopNews is a racist publication.
To the comment Ms. Mannan made at public forum: “Such accusations [of misogyny] are not only wrong but are also biased. When people of color speak out, they are often shut down conveniently by being unfairly labeled. This tactic aims to undermine their ability to voice their concerns and their opinions.”
To be clear, I admonished Mr. Mannan for his rude behavior, not the color of his skin. I would have written that about any man that acted similarly, and readers will note that in the same article, Chief Bennett (who is Caucasian), was not spared of criticism for the way he addressed Chair Kramer. Ms. Mannan failed to mention that fact to the Select Board because it didn’t fit her narrative.
A parade of testimonials poured out at public forum on April 30, all essentially saying that Mannan and Nasrullah’s behavior was entirely appropriate and not misogynistic. I noted that none of the speakers asked Ms. Kramer for her thoughts.
As a point of fact, the “mansplaining” article was published 26 days earlier; where were their objections then?
To summarize this mess: I wrote about what I perceived as rude behavior at a Select Board meeting, some anonymous person left an incendiary Facebook comment, Mr. Mannan was offended and mixed up Facebook and HopNews, and Ms. Mannan asserted that misogyny is actually veiled racism, all covered by the Independent and blaming HopNews. Are you following this? Because I’m not. The mental gymnastics are exhausting.
One last point of irony. During the April 16 Select Board meeting – on the same night Mr. Mannan made his statement about racism – the Select Board interviewed and considered three Sergeants for the position of police Lieutenant. The Board was split, and Mr. Mannan cast the tie-breaking vote, promoting Scott van Raalten over Aaron O’Neil.
According to the Commonwealth:
“An independent investigation concluded that, in or around September 2001, Sergeant vanRaalten [sic], in separate incidents, engaged in conduct that could be construed as discriminatory. In the first incident, which occurred during booking, Sergeant vanRaalten was found to have draped an American flag around an arrestee of Middle Eastern descent and demanded that he repeat the phrase, “I love America.” In the second incident, which occurred in the course of a motor vehicle stop, Sergeant vanRaalten was found to have ordered the vehicle’s occupants to pick up and wave miniature American flags.”
Van Raalten was placed on the “Brady List”, which is a watch list used by prosecutors to track police officers who have been involved in or accused of misconduct. On October 3, 2023, the Middlesex District Attorney notified van Raalten that “new findings explicitly clear you of wrongdoing with respect to one of the two incidents that initially prompted our notice, and there is insufficient evidence of any wrongdoing on your part with regard to the second incident to warrant continued disclosure.”
HopNews confirmed with Board member Nasrullah that this background was part of the Select Board’s hiring packet. So Mannan clearly knew when he cast the critical vote.
Whose Town is It?
Admittedly, our coverage model has upset the town apple cart. Article by article, we’ve stepped on some toes. We received equal praise and flack for the fake invoice story, for example, but the same voices were quiet as to how the invoice could be paid in the first place. And then some folks simply feel it’s impolite to criticize the Select Board. I get it.
Allow me to unambiguously state my point of view: Hopkinton is a town of nearly 20,000 souls, with services provided by a $121 million budget. This is not a small operation, it is a mid-sized company. To those that answer the call and volunteer for service, we’re grateful. But be an honest, ethical and hardworking person. If you’re not, we’ll probably write about you. Don’t break the trust of the people that elected you; Volunteering does not entitle you to a free pass.
(Many Town Hall employees are also HopNews subscribers. From top to bottom folks are always friendly to me. Yesterday I bounced between the Treasury desk to Land Use to the Town Manager’s office, and without fail they were all helpful, informative and kind.)
So who is truly upset by our reporting? People who previously had power and controlled the narrative in Hopkinton, either through their print publication, website, or social media page. They decided what kind of town Hopkinton would be and how we would be perceived. They promoted their friends and were merciless with their enemies. They decided who ran for office and who won. They were a handful of people but they wielded tremendous influence.
If you need one more example, at the last PolyArts festival, HopNews had a booth. Sue Odell-Farber, one of the owners of the Independent walked up, and one of our volunteers greeted her. “Hi, we’re HopNews,” the volunteer said.
“No, you’re not,” replied Odell-Farber. “I’m the news in this town,” pointing to herself and walking off.
On May 20, voters will decide if the HDTC will continue to run Hopkinton. They have enjoyed virtually unchecked power in recent years, with all 5 Select Board members and 84% of board positions covered. But Brian Herr (I) and Joe Clark (U) are credible candidates, something the HDTC hasn’t faced in several elections.
What’s the End Game?
I wish I knew. I’m not running for office, so it seems like an awful lot of energy to expend. But this is the same tactic that was employed (by the HDTC and their constituents) to eliminate their Republican rival John Coutinho from the Select Board race in 2020. Then candidate Coutinho was called to the carpet by resident Sara Becker in a Facebook group, who implied that he was a racist because he hadn’t come out strongly enough on the Black Lives Matter movement. Coutinho was bashed in the 146 comments that followed and his family was accosted on more than one occasion. He lost and Ms. Ritterbusch was elected to the Board.
In this election season, as you read the “news”, consider the source. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Peter Thomas is the editor-in-chief at HopNews.
* May 3, 1:36 PM: This last paragraph has been corrected to note that it was Sara Becker that made the initial post about candidate Coutinho, not Kate Ullman Shade.
* May 3, 10:30 PM: Lieutenant van Raalten provided a letter from the Middlesex District Attorney notifying him that they are discontinuing the matter. The article has been updated.
* May 7, 7:50 AM: This article has been updated to include HCAM in the Media Landscape, a regrettable oversight on the part of the author.
Great read!
“It really is true that I’m the kingmaker,” she once told me
What a ridiculous statement. I laughed heartily at that line
It is certainly time to ditch the HDTC stranglehold on Hopkinton. The town will be much better served by a diversity of thought and skill sets. Right now, there is no diversity of thought….but rather, a monolithic adherence to partisan ideology. Having 5 members of the same party seems a particularly bad idea. As evidenced by many recent meetings, this results in a near mindless uniformity of opinion and voting on many matters.
And what happened to Coutinho was completely unfair. Kind of ironic that the race warriors who demanded he “do more” re: Mikayla Miller were actually wrong on the merits of the case and he was correct. Another sad example of weaponized racism gone wrong and serving nothing more than a useless and unproductive agenda.
It’s unsurprising to see Mrs. Hayes resurfacing now that it’s election season, boldly inserting herself into photos while the Select Board seemingly turns a blind eye to her actions. Why does the Select Board persist in their official association with Darlene Hayes?
Mrs. Hayes’s prolonged history of bullying, defamation, and slander has gone unchecked due to the absence of accountability within her social circle. It’s evident that nobody has confronted her behavior to this day. While the Select Board dedicated significant time to condemn a single Facebook comment on Tuesday, they remained silent last year despite overwhelming evidence of Darlene Hayes’ attack and defamation against myself, which even led to concerns for my safety and that of my children in a town that has been my home for over 35 years. It’s important to highlight that Mrs. Hayes targeted my religion, yet the HDTC, which claims to denounce hate speech, remained silent. Imagine the outrage if I were Muslim or Jewish. Yet, the HDTC chose not to act.
It’s also worth mentioning that Ms. Hayes also played a central role in undermining John Continho’s reputation and actively posted critical Facebook comments. The HDTC has evidently sanctioned her actions, using her to carry out their agenda in order to secure the election of their candidates for many years.
Additionally, the recent collaboration among figures such as Amy Groves, the HDTC chair, the Hopkinton Library (whose elected trustee also holds a HDTC membership) and Mr. Mannan to leverage their official capacities in discrediting dissenting voices and undermining HopNews is both alarming and, unfortunately, predictable. This isn’t merely conjecture; it’s a demonstrable pattern of coordinated action. When faced with opposition, they resort to derogatory name-calling and labeling tactics. I’ve experienced this firsthand, and it’s evident they are employing the same tactics once again.
It’s also worth noting that two Select Board candidates, Kyla McSweeney and Peter Mimmo, are currently affiliated with this group. As Mr. Mimmo proudly declared during the debate, he is “unapologetically” a HDTC member.
As voters, it’s crucial to recognize and reject the influence of such bullies in our community. Hopkinton deserves leadership that upholds integrity and transparency, free from intimidation and manipulation
Very well put Ashley. Funny how in today’s political environment, the most shrill voices among us who constantly lecture the masses on tolerance and diversity are generally the least tolerant individuals out there. The modern day Democratic Party has no tolerance for diversity of opinions. So they attempt to cancel dissenters………
Politics aside, I know Peter Mimmo personally, and do not believe him to be a “bully” in any way. Not all Dems are of the same mindset, as evidenced by the recent arguing by Select Board members amongst themselves. That being said, we could definitely use more diversity of viewpoints on the Board, and should reject bullying and discrimination of any kind. Let’s please build bridges in our town, not create more division. Thanks.
The division was created by the HDTC, they own it and benefitted from it. For the current contenders for Select Board to give a proud nod to the party should be challenged.
This article claims that I called Coutinho “a racist” in a 2020 Facebook post. I did not do this, and the writer owes me an apology.
You are correct, Ms. Shade, and we humbly apologize for the mistake. In fact, it was Sara Becker that made the original Facebook post. We have updated the article and noted the correction in the footer.
“The lad[dy] doth protest too much, me thinks.”
So because Mr. Mannan didn’t want to speak to Hop News, his account of what happened to him bears less weight? What difference does it make how he “construed” the comment? Perception is reality. Why is it on Mr. Mannan to “prove” anything? It’s the same logic that is applied to people that are victims of SA, and it’s wrong. Considering the amount of times Hop News has brought up the issue of race recently, it’s interesting that you didn’t address the racist language and symbols that were recently found at the high school, like The Independent did. Should we ask Carol for proof this happened? Or should we find the students this harmed and ask them to prove how it hurt them?
Not only did you call out Kate Ullman Shade incorrectly but you also called out Sara Becker incorrectly. She never called JC a racist. In fact she tried to find out who did after the comments were deleted. She challenged his ideas, his lack of support of social movements like BLM (this was the height of the movement in 2020) and his visible support of Trump, but never called him a racist.
Like you stated in this “article” people in government positions hold an incredible amount of power and voters have every right to ask tough questions and challenge the support and actions of those running for public office. To be in line with this “articles” theme, maybe you should “prove” SB called JC a racist.
The phrase “perception is reality” is often attributed to political consultant Lee Atwater, who used it to describe the importance of perception in politics.
Atwater was best known for his work with the Republican Party during the 1980s. He became famous for his aggressive campaign tactics and strategies that helped shape the political landscape of the time. Atwater played key roles in the presidential campaigns of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. He was particularly noted for his role in Bush’s 1988 presidential campaign, which was marked by some controversial tactics that included the use of negative advertising, most famously the Willie Horton ad.
That you would quote Atwater is ironic since he’s one of the most corrosive political figures in American history.
And to add to Ed’s excellent comments, the notion that “perception is reality” is objectively ridiculous and demeaning to any logical person.
Krissy, Thankfully, in today’s landscape, it is pretty damning to be labeled as racist, misigynist, whatever the “ist” may be. Therefore you cannot simply hurl that label at anyone without having to prove it. In this case it is not a matter of proving and verifying Shahidul’s experience, it’s a matter of proving who the offender was. In this case, it appears that it was a random Facebook person and someone who approached Shahidul and his family in a public setting-(Rather than HopNews). I’m interested to know who this public person is and what their intentions are. Who was it that asked Shahidul if he still plans to live in Hopkinton? I’m surprised that more folks haven’t been concerned with this aspect of his initial complaint and I’m surprised you seem to be unfazed by it as well. Is this all for self asserting politics or are you truly an advocate?
Election season is like Groundhog Day for the HDTC except this year the virtue signaling is extra loud and tainted with a hefty dose of hypocrisy. Their anti-racist PR stunt would hold more credence if their former leader didn’t commit election fraud (too many “receipts” to mention). As an aside, religious discrimination is harmful, too, and DH’s pseudonyms created a fictional character of Ms. Fogg as a hyper-conservative book burner (which is defamation of character and FALSE, BTW). Their “end game” is grasping as many straws as they can to win elections. The town’s end game should be ending this BS already and getting back to business.
I’m having a hard time understanding how SGT van Raalten was promoted with his documented past of demonstrating racist behavior. It is not in alignment with all of the synchronized things that took place on that SAME DAY, which is the following: HDTC condemned racism via their LTE in the HI and made a donation of anti-racist books to the library, the anti racism letter from the library was published in the HI, the HI published their own article about racism; aiming it at HopNews, all select board members crafted individual statements about racism for the SB meeting that day, the town manager and SB re-committed to condemning racism, and then they go ahead and promote a man that they knew draped a flag around a man with southeast Asian decent?? Actions speak louder than words and it doesn’t take William Shakespeare to say something like “an agenda is at play, me thinks” to see what is going on here.
Kristin —
I completely agree with you; however, is their vote really that unexpected?
It’s just further FACTUAL PROOF that our Select Board doesn’t do the work the citizens of Hop have expected them to do when they were voted into their positions.
This has been proven time and time again (ie: they did not read the Kroll reports on Brennan or the Chief Bennett).
RECALL THEM ALL.
Please quote me directly so readers can decide if I was implying JC was racist or if I was asking a question about a candidate’s position regarding the BLM movement in Hopkinton at the time so that I could make a well informed decision in an election that was days away.
This is the post with 146 replies in which hopnews states that I implied JC was racist:
“We have an election coming up on June 29th. One vote is for a select board seat. This is very important for our town. Amy Burns Ritterbusch actively stands with us at protests/vigils so I know she believes Black Lives Matter. I have looked into and I am having trouble finding anything of depth or value regarding John Coutinho views on police reform and the current social justice movement that our town must wholly be part of. The only thing I have seen from him is a repost of Chief Bennet’s statement but that is an obligatory move. Can anyone point me to statements, interviews or posts that might give more insight into John Coutinho views?”
What I took away from this post and the 146 comments that followed is that active and open conversation amongst neighbors creates a well informed citizenry whose votes can enact change.
Keep asking questions, folxs. A candidate’s response to your questions informs your vote. Further, a candidate’s response to you ASKING them questions is even more informative.
Never stop asking questions. Inform your vote. Enact change.
Good idea, Sara. I plan on enacting change by voting in the Independent candidates. Sage advice. Thank you.
Sara: conducting research to make an informed vote vs engineering a social media feeding frenzy with your friends are two completely different things.
My thoughts exactly. Doing research by asking direct questions to candidates is an important and effective way to inform your vote. Stirring the pot with divisive comments on social media is not.
Exactly. I want candidates who have volunteered in our town government and in our community. Put their time in. To the best of my knowledge that’s 3 of the 4 candidates. Unless I’m mistaken.
At the time of posting, I was relatively new to town. 5 people in town might have known who I was, 3 might say we were acquaintances simply because we were neighbors, 0 would have said we were friends. None of them would have been down to create a “social media feeding frenzy” with the new neighbor, I can assure you of that. That post was me alone, asking questions.
I was more familiar with city politics, where we talk to our community on social media about these issues. This is very common practice. Commenters informed me in my post that in a town this size, we go directly to the candidate. So, I did. He did not respond.
Ms. Becker your behavior in 2020 was devious. First, you addressed Amy Ritterbush’s support of BLM, then immediately launched into a contrasting attack on John Coutinho, attempting to smear him as a racist through a covert social media campaign. Mature individuals would have directly engaged with the candidate instead of orchestrating a whisper campaign and allowing others like Darlene Hayes to make baseless accusations. It’s concerning that Darlene dirty deleted her comments, and you failed to publicly condemn her slanderous remarks. Your actions were not subtle; it’s evident you were insinuating John Coutinho’s racism without explicitly stating it.
Wait, you can intuit implicit racism from a stranger’s social media post but Shaihidul Mannan has to prove his actual experience with racism otherwise it is the result of some convoluted conspiracy? Wow.
I personally find it disappointing that Mr. Mannan does not seem inclined to clarify his comments that he made at a public Select Board meeting. In my opinion, the noble thing to do would be to issue a clarification during an ensuing Select Board meeting, and clearly state that this comments to the Indy were inaccurate, in that he meant he was referring to a comment left on the HopNews Facebook page and not to any content published by HopNews. Instead, it was left to the town attorney to clarify Mr. Mannan’s inaccurate and misleading statements. Why the town attorney? Dear reader, don’t you find it troubling when our public servants use their “bully pulpit” to smear a local newspaper, and then the town attorney is the one “clarifying” the deceptive comments? Deep State indeed!
I find it curious that Peter Thomas, who runs his newspaper as a public service, and NOT for the money, is vilified with smears and innuendos. I guess that it is the price to pay for printing the news in our town that certain other media sources and town officials would prefer to keep hidden.
I wonder of Mannan’s community will support him when they realize he failed them (and all of us) by not doing the proper “vetting,” before promoting vanRaalten?
Ms. Kramer said that they’d be reviewing disciplinary records for the Lieutenant position. She said this during a SM meeting.
If Mr. Mannan didn’t have the time, he could expect the SB Chair did, and follow her lead. If course, given his treatment of her over the last several weeks, he opted to be uninformed AND vote the opposite.
It pretty much invalidates his words.
Keep up the good work, Peter. It is an important check on a lot of people in this town who think their actions should go unquestioned.
I know. I was told by a Select Board member (now on his way out) that I don’t get to ask questions during public forum.
Huh? It’s right in the introduction to public forum that is read at every Select Board meeting.
Questions — still not satisfactorily answered — about the activities of Kroll, the town’s legal and labor counsels, JGPR, the senior law enforcement officer of this town, the now former town manager, and the entire Select Board regarding:
* The criminal investigation of child rape accusations against Police Deputy John Porter that resulted in him being indicted on three counts of child rape;
* The gross indifference and negligence of Town officials to not insist that Porter not be allowed to continue to coach a girls high school soccer team in a neighboring town as a condition of his employment for MONTHS while he was under investigation, leaving those girls at risk and the school administrators in the dark;
* The unlawful release immediately following the kangaroo court that somehow passed for a Loudermill Hearing of the survivor — and her two young children’s — Personal Identifying Information PII), as “authorized” (the town’s word, not mine) by the Hopkinton Police Chief, Joseph Bennett;
* The wrongful and shameful dismissal of Sgt. Timothy Brennan, an officer with two decades of unblemished service to this community and three decades in law enforcement, on policy violations, three of which were not even in place at the time they were supposedly violated — even though the Middlesex District Attorney and State Police investigators said they were good with how Sgt. Brennan handled the survivor’s case, a position subsequently supported by experts in the field of sexual assault and rape;
* The selective public release of Sgt. Brennan’s interview with Kroll investigators, while still not publicly sharing the transcript of Chief Bennett’s interview to this day;
* The ridiculously feeble attempt that was absolutely not in the public’s interest to delay the Police Chief’s mid-year review under the guise that the District Attorney’s office asked the town not to investigate Chief Bennett until their investigation was complete;
* The egregiously disrespectful roles and tones of three Select Board members — Lafreniere, Mannan and Nasrullah (Ritterbusch stayed relatively quiet, understandable given her unlawful sharing of the Kroll Report to thousands of her social media followers) — in not allowing Muriel Kramer to ask important questions about Bennett’s performance that was NOT related to the PII case under investigation, to include: staff turnover, long overdue unfilled leadership vacancies; failure to roll out GPS and body-worn camera technologies that the town heavily invested in in a timely manner; his outright insubordination to the Town manager and Select Board chair who also serves as the Board’s liaison to the Police Department; and numerous other dismal performance issues that in the real world would constitute grounds for dismissal alone, if not cumulatively. But not in the Mayberry bubble that the people in our town seem to operate in.
There has been an utterly total systemic failure of the Town Government of Hopkinton to perform its duties in this case alone. So who knows what else is happening or will happen outside the public eye on other government issues if good, strong, truly independent journalism such as HopNews doesn’t call it out?
Keep up the good fight, Peter. You are performing an invaluable public service to our community and deserving of the utmost respect for holding this Town Government accountable.
I’m proud to know you and unapologetically support the truly independent local journalism at its finest that you and HopNews practice.