The Select Board race has taken a dramatic turn with the withdrawal of Stevie Keith, one of five candidates running for two open seats in the spring election and the only fresh face in the field.
Keith, 38, said a family health issue makes it impossible for him to continue his campaign.
“This was not an easy decision, but due to health concerns within my family, I need to dedicate my full attention and energy where it is most needed right now,” he wrote in a statement posted on Facebook.
In a phone conversation Monday, Keith said he is optimistic the issue – which he did not want to discuss publicly – will be resolved within the coming months.
“We’ve just got to get through it,” he said. “Hopefully, by the end of summer we’re in great shape.”
Keith, who co-owns a local plumbing company, said he broke the news Friday to the other four candidates in the Saturday, May 16, town election, as well as to Select Board members David Golden, Bill Keohan, and Deb Iaquinto, none of whom are up for re-election this year.
“Every single one was just extremely kind,” he said. “They all said, ‘If you need anything, we’re here for you,’ and I believe them.”
With Keith out of the race, that leaves incumbents Kevin Canty and Dick Quintal seeking new three-year terms. The other two candidates are former board member Betty Cavacco and former Plymouth police officer Scott Vecchi, who lost a bid for a seat last year.
But in an unusual twist that trumpets their political alignment, Cavacco and Quintal are mounting a joint campaign, asking voters to cast ballots for both of them. If the strategy is successful, they could join with Golden to gain a majority rule on issues. All three have expressed mutual support for each other in the past.
Keith said he would not endorse any of the remaining candidates, but in an indirect reference to the Cavacco-Quintal pairing he said, “I think it’s best if everyone runs their own thing.”
He did not rule out another run for local office in the future.
While the Select Board is supposed to be non-partisan, questions about political affiliations have proliferated in recent years, likely in part because of the massive divide between Democrats and Republicans at the state and national levels. Golden’s party allegiance is known since he earlier this year said he will seek the Republican nomination for a state representative seat.
Keith said his party affiliation has often been the first question people have asked him since he announced his Select Board candidacy. He finds it puzzling.
Describing himself as “fiscally conservative,” he said, “I like to consider myself a classic American – truth, justice, and the American way.”
“There’s pure poverty in other countries, where people are starving and that’s not American,” he said. “Let’s make sure people at least have a full belly and a roof over their heads. That’s American.”
As for the town’s future, he said Plymouth’s “best days are yet to come. Nothing’s insurmountable if everybody can work together, and that’s what I’ve been hoping for this whole time. Maybe me getting out [of the race] will help people focus on what public service is supposed to be.”
Keith’s “let’s work together” message contrasts sharply with Vecchi’s approach, which appears intended to torpedo any chance he might have of winning.
At 12:52 a.m. on Easter Sunday, Vecchi posted a racially insensitive meme on his Facebook page featuring a cartoonish figure of a Hispanic woman apparently dressed as a housecleaner. She is shown standing at the open tomb of Jesus and telling one of his disciples, “No, no, Mr. Jesus no here.”
He previously posted an AI-generated image of Cavacco dressed in a prison uniform and behind bars. He labeled her “Betty the Crook.”
Vecchi mentioned state Open Meeting Law violations he attributed to Cavacco and “the $11 million budget deficit which was never adequately explained the last time she was on the Select Board (from 2018 to 2023).”
He also claimed Cavacco “conspired” with local police officials “to violate Civil Service law and distributed a slander packet to the Select Board and others about me…When this didn’t work, she berated and intimidated [then] town Manager [Melissa Arrighi] until she stopped my promotion to Captain. This eventually caused the town to have to pay a large settlement in the lawsuit that followed.”
Cavacco and Flynn have denied acting improperly.
Mark Pothier can be reached at mark@plymouthindependent.org.