Who's in charge of Board of Selectmen meetings? - Commentary

     Some weeks back Selectman Chartrand basically challenged Don Clement for leadership of the Board by stating the he, as vice chairman, shared leadership responsibilities with the Chairman.  Clement immediately pushed back by pointing out that the vice chair sat in for the chair in his or her absence - period.  There were a number of occasions where Chartrand attempted to influence the running of a meeting.  Well, it seems nothing has changed.
     This was evidenced in the discussions that took place on the proper placing of public comment in the agenda.  There is every reason to believe Chartrand was behind the move and in some manner influenced Chairperson Gilman to make the change.  Why do I say this?  Gilman originally made a feeble attempt to explain her position by saying that residents were speaking at public comment on items placed later on the agenda.  She wanted to see the Board's business carried out in a more efficient manner, thus public comment should be after business was conducted.  (Clearly this ignores the fact that public comment is business for the Board.)  She was corrected when it was pointed out that Clement used to ask those wishing to speak at public comment to hold off on comments on agenda items until they came up.  So, in the final discussion of the placement of public comment Gilman took Chartrand's approach that it often set the tone of the meeting.  Huh?  Chartrand was often the cause of bad tone when he argued with residents or made his demeaning or condescending comments.  When Selectwoman Surman asked Gilman for an example of a meeting going bad because of tone, Gilman did not respond with any.  Truth is, it never happened.  Chartrand cannot handle dissent or criticism and his words and body language speak volumes.
     The question is, will Gilman be her own person or will she be a puppet for Chartrand?  She has the experience to lead the meetings, but does she have the independence?  We are already seeing Selectwoman Belanger take  her lead from Chartrand and since she was hand picked by him  to run for Selectman this is no surprise.