Friday, Mar. 12, 2010

Gardner councilman resigns from office

Gardner City Councilman Dan Thompson resigned Friday saying he no longer wishes to serve in an environment of animosity.

He turned in a resignation letter to the city just more than a week after voters recalled fellow council members John Shepherd and Mary Peters.

“Over the past several months, many Gardner people I’ve respected and been proud to call my friends have seemingly forgotten that basic tenet of living in a kind community and world,” Thompson wrote in his resignation letter. “Today, any excuse seems to be adequate to get rid of people with whom you do not agree.”

Thompson said the allegations against Peters and Shepherd were false and they have served the city and community “extensively” and “would never, never have intentionally or unintentionally broken any of the open meetings laws.”

A citizens petition for the recall election alleged that Peters, Shepherd and Thompson met together to formulate letters and a document to change the way the council and mayor operate and the balance of power. Voters recalled Peters and Shepherd in a special election on March 2.

Those allegations are erroneous, Thompson said, and he hopes the community would not believe he or the other council members would have acted in such a manner.

“The ‘issues’ in this recall election have officially been about whether John, Mary and I broke any open meetings laws,” Thompson said. “Unofficially, it’s been about the intermodal and who has control of the city of Gardner.”

In June, Thompson, Peters and Shepherd was the majority vote in de-annexing the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway intermodal and business park from the city limits of Gardner and nullifying all other agreements.

The three council members said the current annexation plans were unfavorable to Gardner and did more damage to the city than good. Opposition to that decision, Thompson said, that it set off a chain of events that damaged city government and the community.

“Despite a finding of no wrong doing by the district attorney, despite a finding of no broken laws, the recallers continued in their political quest to hand the reins of the city to those who agreed with them on one issue,” Thompson said.

Thompson was in office less than a year. He was elected last April, gaining the second most votes behind Mary Peters in an all at-large election.

“When I got into this, I thought it was time to get past the acrimony and bring back the gracious town we’d always been rather than the polarized, unforgiving community we’ve become,” Thompson said.

Drovetta announced that Kristina Harrison would fill Shepherd’s seat on the council and he had hoped that Thompson would help him in selecting a replacement for Peters. Now, Harrison will fill Thompson’s position and the mayor must find replacements for Shepherd and Peters.

Drovetta needs to fill at least two of the three vacant seats to form a quorum, so the council, under local law, can legally conduct city business. The council will meet Monday at its regular scheduled meeting to vote on the selections.

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