From left: Somerville Select Board members Willard Pierpont and Don Chase listen as Chair Donald Witmer-Kean reads a letter of resignation from former Somerville Town Clerk Samantha Peaslee on Wednesday, Sept. 18. Witmer-Kean, Peaslee, Somerville Treasurer and Tax Collector Sandra Devaney, and Somerville Road Commissioner Nicholas Fortune all announced their resignations during the meeting. (Molly Rains photo)
Four town officials announced their resignations during a meeting of the Somerville Select Board on Wednesday, Sept. 18.
Resignees blamed a “toxic” and “hostile” environment at the town office and within the community at large for two of the four resignations, which raised concerns about the continued operation of the Somerville town office through election season and beyond.
Somerville Tax Collector and Treasurer Sandra Devaney, Town Clerk Samantha Peaslee, Road Commissioner Nicholas Fortune, and select board Chair Donald Witmer-Kean all announced their resignations on Sept. 18.
“We shouldn’t have to put in the job description that you have to be willing to accept people swearing at you, yelling at you, slamming doors, and calling you names when they don’t get their way,” Devaney said.
Devaney has worked for Somerville since 2020. She gave two weeks’ notice for her current roles as Tax Collector and Treasurer on Sept. 18, but said she would stay until a replacement is hired, working on a per-diem basis after those two weeks have elapsed if necessary.
Peaslee also resigned on Sept. 18, announcing her departure was immediate via a letter read by Witmer-Kean. In an email sent Thursday, Sept. 19, Peaslee said “constant” swearing and harassment from residents, both on the phone and in person at the town office, led her to resign.
In addition to serving as clerk, Peaslee served as general assistance officer, registrar of voters, deputy tax collector, and assistant treasurer, all of which are now vacant roles. She served as town clerk for three years.
Witmer-Kean attributed his resignation, which is effective Sunday, Oct. 13, to a change in employment. He has served on the Somerville Select Board since Aug. 1, 2022, and has held the role of chair since July 10 of this year.
“The unpleasantness and incivility of many in the town certainly makes me not regret my decision, but I am not being pushed or pressured out,” Witmer-Kean said in an email on Sept. 19.
Fortune said via letter that he was resigning immediately for medical reasons.
“Due to a recent and unexpected health issue that has left me with ongoing complications and a lengthy recovery, I need to step back and focus on getting my health back in order,” Fortune said in the letter.
Fortune was appointed to fill the vacant position of road commissioner on Nov. 1, 2023. He was officially elected to the office at Somerville’s annual town meeting in June. The former road commissioner has been unable to attend select board meetings for the past month due to illness.
Regarding the resignations of town office staff, Peaslee said the conditions that led to their resignations had worsened over time.
“When I first started working in the office I loved coming to work every day and helping those who came in,” she said in the Sept. 19 email. However, “after a while the dynamic started to change for the town (new people in seats on the select board and residents being put on committees or boards). Residents started treating each other with hate and disrespect, a way no one should be treated.”
Peaslee said the harassment was “constant,” with residents contacting her on the phone and in person. She called the experience “draining and mentally exhausting.”
Somerville residents listen to the select board announce multiple resignations of town officials the evening of Wednesday, Sept. 18. Some blamed disrespectful behavior from community members for the departure of town office staff. “There must be a standard established for decorum, because what they’ve had to endure is just ridiculous,” said Kelly Grenier (center), a resident and former town employee. (Molly Rains photo)
Devaney alleged the harassment had been undertaken intentionally.
“Some of the people are in this room. They know who they are, and they don’t care,” she said during the Sept. 18 meeting. “They got exactly what they wanted … they have certain people that they want working in this office and working on the board, and they will do everything in their power until they can have certain people doing the job and having people doing their bidding.”
“We have miserable people in town who are rude, condescending, and made a toxic environment for our staff,” Witmer-Kean said. “So, congratulations – you don’t have staff.”
Town officials did not name the individuals they said were responsible. Peaslee said there were “multiple” people involved.
An audience of about 17 residents responded emotionally to the announcements. Some expressed sympathy for Devaney and Peaslee, while others expressed dismay over the departures or asked Devaney not to leave.
Devaney said she found it disheartening that action wasn’t taken sooner.
“It breaks my heart,” she said. “You’ll wait until half the officials in town leave before you guys decide to work together.”
Former Somerville Tax Collector Kelly Grenier, who resigned in January of this year, said Tuesday, Sept. 24 the town office staff previously discussed creating a standard for behavior.
Staff members were already following a policy of not working alone at the town office for their own safety, something that Grenier said had been initiated by former select board member Jarad Greeley. When concerns mounted in 2023, town office staff, which at the time comprised Grenier, Devaney, and Peaslee, discussed writing a standard of decorum. However, the document never materialized, according to Grenier.
Grenier said the climate within the town office was not the direct cause of her own departure in January, citing a job offer she couldn’t turn down. However, she said the behavior of “naysayers, fear-mongerers, and hate slingers” contributed to her decision by creating an environment at the Somerville town office she found it “harder and harder” to endure.
The resignations raise a number of concerns about how Somerville will continue to operate as a municipality, Witmer-Kean said, from creating uncertainty around who will oversee the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 5 to not knowing who will administer general assistance benefits. There is also the daunting task of finding and hiring replacement staff, he added.
The select board will work with the Maine Municipal Association and town attorney Mary Denison to determine what options are available to them immediately, Witmer-Kean said. Advertisements about the open positions will be posted online and in the newspaper, Devaney said.
Devaney plans to help in the interim.
“I have offered, I can do all three roles, but it’s a lot to do,” she said. “I will do what I can to help out until the town finds people to do these positions.”
The select board seat will remain unfilled until an election can be held. The select board opted to schedule that election for Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, after extensive discussion over whether the nomination process should be accelerated.
Devaney said combining the election with the general election would save the town additional election costs totaling about $600. The town has used an accelerated election timeline in the past to fill select board seats after they became vacant, including in the election that saw Witmer-Kean elected to replace Greeley, who resigned on June 26, 2022. Witmer-Kean was elected to the seat just over one month later, on Aug. 1, 2022. Witmer-Kean was the only candidate to return nomination papers for that special election.
Some residents and select board member Willard Pierpont said repeating the accelerated election timeline would not allow potential candidates enough time to return nomination papers or campaign.
Resident Roy Miller said following the typical election protocol, which requires 100 days’ notice, would avoid opening the town up to criticism or claims of conspiracy.
Until a new select board member is elected, the board will operate with two members. The pair must elect a new chair at their first meeting without Witmer-Kean. However, having only two members may make operations difficult, as a majority vote is needed for the board to take action, Devaney said.
Regarding the office of road commissioner, the select board can assume those responsibilities during the search for Fortune’s replacement, said select board member Don Chase. Pierpont, who served as road commissioner from 2020 until his resignation in July 2023, said he had a few candidates in mind for a replacement.
The next meeting of the Somerville Select Board will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 2, at the town office.
From left: Somerville Select Board members Willard Pierpont, Don Chase, and Chair Donald Witmer-Kean consider the resignations of town office staff and road commissioner on Wednesday, Sept. 18. Witmer-Kean also announced his impending resignation from the select board that evening. (Molly Rains photo)
