Recall statute passes after targeted official resigns

BROOKLIN – Voters on Saturday approved a statute allowing them to remove an elected official from local office, but the pre-emptive action of a town selectman prevented them from using it.

Minutes before residents gathered in the Brooklin School gymnasium for a special town meeting to consider adopting a proposed recall ordinance, Selectman Hendrik Gideonse submitted his letter of resignation during an emergency meeting of the town’s three selectmen.

Gideonse’s one-page letter cited his love for Brooklin as well as several accomplishments over his nearly two years in office. His resignation takes effect Tuesday.

“I leave office secure in the knowledge of accomplishments whose beneficial impacts will come to be seen as critically important and valuable departures from the past,” he wrote.

He attended the special town meeting, but only long enough to read a short statement in which he expressed hope that residents would treat each other with empathy and kindness from now on.

“Kindness and a sense of humor will help us live … in these 12,000 acres together,” he said.

Saturday’s session was the culmination of months of discord amongst town officials, which many in town have attributed to Gideonse’s leadership style.

In January, residents attended a public forum where town officials explained that the animosity was creating tension in the town office and making it difficult for them to do their jobs. A citizens’ petition calling for a recall ordinance soon followed.

The two remaining selectmen, Robert Tapley and Lorna Grant, and five other town leaders said they would resign if the situation continued.

After receiving news of Gideonse’s resignation on Saturday, residents debated the merits of a recall ordinance for nearly an hour before casting their secret ballots. In the end, they passed it by a vote of 176 to 110, but had no reason to put the new law into practice.

The ordinance makes any elected town official subject to a recall vote if a petition seeking such action is signed by at least 10 percent of all registered voters and submitted to selectmen. Selectmen would then have 30 days to schedule a special town meeting where residents would be asked to vote on the proposal.

On Saturday, several residents were critical of the measure, particularly of its 10 percent mandate.

“I think 10 percent is too small a number,” Holbrook Williams said.

Both Grant and Tapley said they favored a higher standard of 25 percent.

Others disapproved of the entire ordinance, saying it would set a dangerous precedent.

“Selectmen are often required to do things that are unpopular with a significant majority of the population,” Phil Caper said.

Another resident, Jon Wilson, publicly acknowledged Gideonse’s work in the town, even though the departing selectman had already left the meeting.

“I appreciate very much, as a member of this community, what Hendrik has tried to do for the town,” he said.