Thank you to the Select Board of Swampscott for starting an important dialogue on June 24th regarding race, privilege and the very real experience of people of color in our town. It was an important dialogue, but we have so much more work to do. Some of that work needs to start with a reckoning about who is, and who is not, fit to lead this town at this critical juncture in history.
I am writing today to call on Don Hause to resign his position on the Select Board. Mr. Hause has been at the center of an important conversation Swampscott. It is clear by some of his recent statements and his attendance at the forum that he is at the beginning of an anti-racism journey. This is an important place to be. I want to be clear that this is not a question of anyone’s right to hold whatever views they want in this country or the need for people to have space to learn and grow. This is a question of who is fit to lead our town.
I want to review what Mr. Hause has done — and not done — that has led me to believe he needs to vacate his seat on the Select Board.
On June 3rd, at the Select Board meeting, Mr. Hause refused to take part in a conversation with local protest organizers or take part in the drafting/signing of the proclamation condemning the murder of George Floyd, a proclamation our Chief of Police specifically asked to be able to sign because he supported it.
Mr. Hause later mischaracterized this proclamation as “support of protesters” (it was not) and stated that he “did not feel the time was right”. He provided no explanation as to what, exactly, the right timing would be to decry blatant human rights abuse.
Instead, on June 9th, Mr. Hause wrote a letter of support for the police which was featured in the Swampscott Reporter. This letter of support was apropos of nothing — no one had accused the Swampscott Police of anything and, again, our Chief supported the town’s proclamation and anti-racism efforts. Mr. Hause has not once publicly denounced Mr. Floyd’s murder. According to his letter, support for Black Lives is simply rhetoric — and he urged our community not to get caught up in it.
On June 11th, Mr. Hause went to Mission on the Bay and we all know the kinds of things he is alleged to have said. Mr. Hause took almost two full weeks to address the community in a public forum. Mr. Hause has found the time to call into a sports radio program and draft posts on Social Media, largely painting himself as the victim. He has made little effort to directly connect with the community. All the while, he complains about the lack of open, back and forth conversation while he himself is the reason we hadn’t had one.
The June 24th forum was a facilitated dialogue on race called “Swampscott’s New IDEA”. During the discussion, Mr. Hause made some comments that indicated that he is learning. However, he also made some concerning comments, including doubling down on the reasons behind not signing the Proclamation which equated decrying the death of George Floyd with somehow supporting looting. (This is, in itself, a racist viewpoint.) He said he would have to “re-read” the Proclamation before signing it, meaning he has taken no time in the past three weeks to look at it again, despite it being at the center of this controversy.
These are not the actions of a public official who is ready to take full accountability for his actions. This lack of accountability is the most disqualifying element of Mr. Hause’s behavior and his presence on a Select Board that claims to care deeply about resolving racial inequality undermines the integrity of the Board itself.
Mr. Hause, a petition to recall your seat has been submitted. I ask that instead of taking up the town’s valuable resources in running a recall campaign, you step down. Your ongoing learning about racism in America can and hopefully will continue, but not while you hold the keys to our town.
Thank you.
Corona Pritchard, Citizen of Swampscott
