MAYOR'S ACTION ILL-ADVISED IN ATTLEBOROby Bill Gouveia for the Sun Chronicle
“Board and commission members are appointed by the mayor to help support the mayor’s agenda.” – Attleboro Mayor Paul Heroux.
“Board and commission members are appointed by the mayor to help support the mayor’s agenda.” – Attleboro Mayor Paul Heroux.
If you agree with that statement, you would see nothing wrong with Mayor Heroux’s decision to remove veteran traffic study commission Chairperson Joe Caponigro, despite reappointing him to a three-year term just nine months ago.
But if you believe the main responsibility of appointed city officials is to serve the citizens first by doing their particular job honestly and openly, then you might find Heroux’s approach a bit self-centered and political. Maybe it’s just a matter of perspective.
Heroux recently demanded Caponigro resign or be removed. Caponigro can contest that removal via a hearing before the city council, but the sole judge is the mayor. So in effect, Heroux is firing the official who has served for more than a decade.
The mayor won’t specifically cite reasons other than referring to “ideological differences” and a failure to support his agenda. When pressed, Heroux said he had no obligation to reveal the details.
This raises questions. Are appointed city officials simply tools designed to implement and support their leader’s policies and plans? Or should they respectfully voice to the people their honestly held views regardless of the mayor’s agenda?
No one denies Mayor Heroux has the legal right to remove an official for virtually any reason. But is that the right way to run a city government?
Heroux says he is merely carrying out the expressed will of the voters. He noted he was re-elected in what this columnist called a mandate. He says that means officials should be working on advancing his goals and promoting his plans for the city. He argues those who differ should back him or resign and run for office.
He likens it to the administration of a president or a governor. He says President Trump or Governor Baker would never put up with officials acting in such a manner.
But Mayor Heroux is not president or governor. Local government is not like running a country or state. The role of citizen volunteers at the local level is largely what makes local government so much more efficient and representative than the giant behemoths in Washington and Boston.
Removing someone from office is far different than appointing or reappointing them. Removal is a punitive action that should only be taken for cause. It should not be a political tool at the local level, used to kick out unpaid volunteers because they aren’t “loyal” enough to the agenda of those in power.
It is one thing to appoint someone who will help advance your cause. It is yet another to remove someone mid-term just because you believe they have not demonstrated sufficient loyalty to your agenda.
Good volunteer public servants are hard enough to find without demanding they put loyalty to the administration over loyalty to their neighbors and their city.
This action by the mayor is ill-advised. Rather than harping on “my administration” and “my agenda,” he would be wise to remember that for Attleboro citizens, this is “our government” and “my city.”
And that is more important than any administration’s agenda.
Bill Gouveia is a local columnist and longtime local official. He can be emailed at billsinsidelook@gmail.com and followed on Twitter at @Billinsidelook.
