SAUGUS — Michael Coller finished eighth in the race for five seats on the Board of Selectmen, and soon he may also be removed from two appointed positions.
Half a dozen letters were sent to selectmen and Town Manager Scott Crabtree concerning Coller, who holds a position on the Library Board of Trustees and Conservation Commission, and is accused of attacking people on social media.
The letters allege he makes inappropriate comments about town officials and their families on Facebook and that he lashed out at them at a post-election celebration on Nov. 7.
A selectmen meeting to discuss the complaints was scheduled for Wednesday night, but canceled Monday morning. Chairwoman Debra Panetta said it has not yet been rescheduled. Wendy Reed, the clerk for the panel, said a reason for the cancellation was not provided.
The complaints, which were obtained by The Item, requested that selectmen remove him from his appointed positions. The Board of Selectmen appoints members to the Library Board of Trustees and also has the authority to remove them, said Town Counsel John Vasapolli.
Many of the complaints recounted an incident at Prince Restaurant on election night, involving Selectman Jeff Cicolini and his wife Julie. In her letter, Julie Cicolini said her husband was approached by Coller at Prince, and, as she observed from a distance for a few minutes, she realized he was being confrontational. She approached them and told them it was not the time or place to have the conversation, she said in the letter.
“Mr. Coller became aggressive towards me and responded angrily ‘mind your own business and stay out of it,'” said Julie Cicolini. “My 17-year-old daughter, who witnessed this along with my husband, advised Mr. Coller to not speak to me that way. I asked Mr. Coller to leave immediately.”
According to the letter, a guest who attended with Coller, whom he later referred to as his attorney, apologized for his behavior. The pair did not leave, and Julie Cicolini, followed by selectman Mark Mitchell, approached them again and both asked him to leave.
“Mr. Coller responded by taking a step towards Mr. Mitchell in a confrontational manner and responded ‘Why don’t you (expletive) make me,'” she said. “I immediately left the area as Mr. Coller’s guest tried to hold him back away from Mr. Mitchell. This aggressive and bullying behavior was witnessed by many residents and town officials that were present. The inappropriate and aggressive behavior did not cease when he finally left the premises. Social media posts by Mr. Coller were vile and abusive specifically towards myself and my 17-year-old daughter as well as my entire family.
“It is my belief that the actions and behavior of Mr. Coller are inappropriate and offensive,” she said. “He is not fit to serve our town in any appointed or elected capacity and is not abiding by the oath that he took when he was sworn in when appointed to the Library Board of Trustees and Conservation Commission.”
Her husband agreed that Coller was out of line.
“As an elected official I have accepted the fact that I put myself out there for folks to share their opinions of me, whether good or bad, and unfortunately some comments can get personal and have little to do with my role and responsibilities as a selectman,” said Jeff Cicolini. “This administration has endured numerous verbal tirades from Mr. Coller over the past several months and never once have I, or we, retaliated. However, when Mr. Coller decided it was OK to disparage my wife and daughter, a minor, on social media, I felt a line had clearly been crossed. It quickly became apparent to me that many residents and elected and appointed officials in town shared the same opinion.”
In an interview with The Item Monday, Coller said he doesn’t consider his social media posts a personal attack on anyone and said that he was accosted at Prince Pizza on election night by two women.
“I left on my own free will and my attorney was there the whole time,” he said. “I’ve never used anybody’s full name on social media. It’s a vilification for my attempted run for selectmen. It’s a fabrication of whatever they have in their minds, I’m not really sure.”
He believes he has been victimized by a town official who superimposed a picture of him on a “negative item,” Coller said. “Anti-Mike Coller campaign on social media.”
The packet of complaints includes several pages of screenshots of Coller’s Facebook page, including posts on the night of the election and the next day.
“For my time and dedication to our town, I was accosted by the chic-a-munsters and Bitch-el at the post-election,” he wrote on Facebook.
He went on to comment on the breath and appearance of one member’s wife and make a derogatory comment about his daughter, who is underage.
“What a dysfunctional mess that runs our town,” Coller wrote. “Midgets and crayon eaters.”
With the statement, he posted a photo of The Munsters, a family of monsters from a 1960s situation comedy who considered themselves fairly normal people.
He made several other references, including to The Wizard of Oz.
“Welcome to the Land of Saugus! Where’s the ‘man behind the curtain?'” he posted.
But many voters aren’t laughing at his antics and think he’s unfit for the positions he holds.
“On election night at Prince Pizza Restaurant, where many of the newly elected officials were celebrating with residents, I witnessed his aggressive behavior in person,” said Joia Cicolini, a member of the Board of Health and a Precinct 8 Town Meeting member, in an email. She is the sister of Jeff Cicolini.
“As an elected and appointed official in town myself, I am of the belief your professional and personal conduct should be trustworthy, open and honest,” she said. “We can agree to disagree, but we should refrain from abusive language and conduct and not disparage our citizens, elected officials, and appointed officials. Serving the citizens of the town of Saugus in an elected or appointed capacity is an honor, not a right to exhibit inexcusable, aggressive, and threatening behavior like Mr. Michael Coller.”
Precinct 9 Town Meeting member Ryan Fisher filed a complaint stating he is concerned with the behavior he witnessed on election night.
“Other candidates who were not successful in the election were able to congratulate the winners, shake hands, and even take post-election selfies together,” said Fisher in his letter. “The behavior I witnessed that evening from an appointed official was deeply concerning to this parent and voter.”
Resident Jeff Flanagan said in a letter that as a resident and voter, Coller’s actions were unacceptable. He requested that he immediately be removed from his appointed positions because of his “harassing and bullying,” which was also directed toward a minor.
Residents Bob DiVola and Ken Scourtas echoed the sentiment in their letters to the board.
“My dedication to the town remains steadfast,” Coller said in a statement. “The strategy I implemented far exceeded my expectations. Out of the 22 percent of the voter-based turnout, attributing to a little over 4,000 pollers, I received close to 1,000 votes. As a first-time selectman candidate, many feel it was a solid run. It is unfortunate the climate became unsettled. I look forward to further contributing all in an effort to assist the town I was born, raised and educated in. Happy holidays to everyone that promotes democracy.”
