PEABODY — The Massachusetts Civil Service Commission has ruled against the city of Peabody on an appeal filed by Andrew Nardone, who was bypassed for an appointment to a full-time firefighter position in December 2018.
The decision, issued by Commissioner Cynthia Ittleman on March 25, found that, “due to the clear bias/favoritism of the mayor (Ted Bettencourt), the bypass reasons are fatally flawed.”
“I have received the decision and strongly disagree with the conclusion and will be appealing the decision and will be utilizing every opportunity available to the city in order to appeal the decision,” said Bettencourt.
“In my 10 years as mayor, I have hired dozens and dozens of police officers and firefighters through civil service, and we have always done our due diligence and research on every candidate. In fact, I would say that in this case, we did more research than we ever have.
“I take these positions extremely seriously as I know how important they are in our community. We want to make sure we have the very best we can and this is the best one for our community,” he said.
According to the ruling, the decision to bypass Nardone and offer positions to two lower-ranked candidates was the result of “patronage involving long-lasting personal relationships,” the use of “unduly subjective” methods in candidates’ assessments, and a “lack of a level playing field due to preferences given to longtime personal friends” of the mayor.
Furthermore, the Civil Service Commission found that the hiring process was improperly conducted. As part of the ruling, the city was ordered to place Nardone at the top of the list for its next full-time firefighter position.
“He is a longtime, personal friend of two selected candidates (identified as Mr. P and Mr. O) whose names appeared below (Nardone’s) on the certification,” Ittleman wrote. “The mayor should have insulated himself from his involvement in the hiring process until he received the ultimate recommendations from those to whom he should have delegated the hiring process.”
Nardone graduated from the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy in 2013. The following year, he obtained a National EMS Certification at the emergency technician level and earned multiple certifications from the Massachusetts Fire Training Council. He worked as a paid, on-call firefighter in Rowley for five years and at the time of the hearing had worked as a paid, on-call, per-diem firefighter in Lynnfield for three months.
After passing the civil service exam in 2016, ranking eighth, and applying for a full-time position in 2018, Nardone was informed in writing by Bettencourt on Dec. 7, 2018 that he had been bypassed for the position.
In the correspondence, Bettencourt cited “a lengthy history of negative driving incidents,” concerns about a 2007 domestic restraining order and “other criminal charges” (for which Nardone was not convicted), as well as questions regarding his residency.
The commission did not agree. It determined that while Nardone’s driving record “raised concerns,” the city failed to establish it had reasonable justification” to bypass him based on that, his alleged criminal record or residency.
The commission found that “multiple members of the PPD (Peabody Police Department) and PFD (Peabody Fire Department) with firsthand knowledge told (Nardone) that the mayor would do anything he needed to get down to his friend’s name (Mr. P) on the certification because Mr. P had not taken the civil service examination again and would not be eligible for the next certification.”
The decision placed great emphasis on the fact that Nardone was never given an opportunity to address the city’s concerns.
“The appellant deserved, but was denied, the opportunity to be evaluated as part of a process that, at a minimum, had not been compromised by patronage involving long-lasting personal relationships,” Ittleman wrote.
The commission found that the process was marked by “political influences or objectives unrelated to merit standards or neutrally applied public policy.”
Bettencourt disagreed, saying that he plans to challenge the decision.
“These are the most important decisions I have to make and I take that very seriously,” he said. “I’m a lifelong resident, I attended Peabody Public Schools and practiced law on Main Street for 12 years. I’ve served on the council for eight years, have coached youth sports for 20 years, and have been on many boards and committees.
“It’s only natural that when people apply for city jobs, there is a very good chance I know them. I like to think that every mayor knows the pulse of their community. I have to look in the mirror every day knowing that police and fire hold a critical and special place in Peabody, so I stand by the decisions that were made in this case. Since I’ve been mayor, the number of cases we’ve had has been extremely small so we intend to fully utilize our rights to appeal this decision.”
