SWAMPSCOTT — During the Aug. 5 Select Board meeting, Board member MaryEllen Fletcher called for Board member David Grishman to be held accountable for the accusations made against her and others on the board.
During the Board meeting on July 22, Grishman called for an immediate investigation into the hiring process for the new Recreation Director, Charlotte Daher de Garcia.
Grishman claimed the hiring process was “corrupt” and said “discriminatory” remarks were directed at Interim Recreation Director Jackie Camerlengo, who was also a candidate.
He also raised concerns about Daher de Garcia being hired at a salary $20,000 higher than her predecessor, Camerlengo.
Grishman also alleged Daher de Garcia had political and personal ties to the Select Board, noting she had managed Chair Katie Phelan’s reelection campaign.
Interim Town Administrator Gino Cresta said during a follow-up interview with The Daily Item that “the process was in no way discriminatory, and I believe that the most qualified candidate was hired for the position.”
When The Daily Item asked Grishman to expand upon his comments or specify who he was referring to regarding the possible discrimination, he would not specify what remarks were made and said he was not referring to Cresta.
When asked if he was referring to Human Resources Manager Maryanne McMaster — who was the only other person involved in the hiring process besides Cresta — Grishman said, “No comment.”
McMaster explained in an interview with The Daily Item that Daher de Garcia will be working more hours a week than the previous Recreation Director, which is the reason behind the salary increase.
“The original offer was $90,000, but the candidate countered the offer, and so I went down to Cresta, who was the only one who could make this decision,” McMaster said. “It was decided that if we changed the work hours a week from 34 hours a week to 40, we get an additional 312 hours out of her (Daher de Garcia).”
Chair Katie Phelan, who had Daher de Garcia as her campaign manager for reelection, denied Grishman’s allegations and said she welcomed an open investigation into the matter.
“When I found out that my friend Charlotte (Daher de Garcia) applied, I immediately went to Gino (Cresta) and said, ‘I cannot talk to you about this because I cannot be in any part of this conversation,’” Phelan responded.
McMaster and Cresta both confirmed that they were the only ones involved in the hiring process. McMaster said that she “categorically denied any wrongdoing” throughout the hiring process.
During a July 8 Board meeting, Grishman also accused Fletcher of asking a town employee to pay a bill for a second legal opinion on the VFW Pine Street development before the Special Town Meeting without prior approval of the Select Board.
Grishman said Fletcher asked the town employee to pay for a legal opinion on whether or not the VFW Post 1240 had to be included in the new affordable housing development for seniors with a preference for veterans.
“It was a lie,” Fletcher said at the Aug. 5 meeting.
She then presented a written document at the meeting, stating she never asked for any town employee to pay a legal bill. “That is how far I had to go to clear my own name, and that is unacceptable,” she said.
At the Aug. 5 meeting, Fletcher called attention to Grishman’s behavior during previous meetings.
“Since I’ve sat on this board, I don’t think I’ve experienced more disrespect and pathetic behavior in any environment I’ve ever been in, and I’m really tired of it,” she said.
Fletcher added that the last Select Board meeting was her breaking point.
She said the Board needs to hold Grishman accountable for his accusations. “It’s my opinion that he should resign from the Board. He does this with intent to harm, not help the town,” she told The Daily Item.
In a statement to The Daily Item, Grisham wrote that he is speaking out to change the culture in Town Hall and to “get us back to the way this town is supposed to operate. The Town Administrator runs Town Hall, not the Select Board.”
