It’s a stunning number that casts a shadow on citizen participation in local government: 66 people appointed to town boards and committees by the Select Board over the past two years have never bothered to get sworn in, as required by town bylaws, Kevin Canty, the board’s chair, told the Independent.
Why people who expressed enough interest to apply for a volunteer position – and even showed up to be interviewed in public at a Select Board meeting – decided not to follow through on their appointment is not clear. Under a town bylaw, if someone is not sworn in within 30 days of being named to a board, the appointment becomes invalid. That means that committees such as the Manomet Village Steering Committee and the Little Red Schoohouse Committee have been operating with vacancies.
“Various boards and committees have appointees on the list,” Canty said in an email, without specifying how many or which ones.
Alice Baker, chair of the Manomet Village Steering Committee, brought up the issue of no-show appointees during the public comment section of Tuesday’s Select Board meeting. Baker said Canty never responded to emails she sent on Aug. 26 and Sep. 3 pointing out that Michaela der Kinderen, appointed by the Select Board to the steering committee on June 17, was not sworn in and had not shown up for any meetings.
Der Kinderen, a first-year student at Stonehill College in Easton, told the Independent that she did not get sworn in because she was busy moving into college housing. She said Baker never reached out to her to inform her that she had to take an oath, nor did she reach out to let her know when committee meetings were held. Baker could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Der Kinderen said she was finally sworn in Monday after Town Clerk Kelly McElreath contacted her. But Baker noted during the Select Board meeting that it was a violation of town bylaws to swear her in after the 30-day period had lapsed. She blamed Canty for the transgression.
“Chairman Canty is in no position to violate Plymouth bylaws and Mass. General Law,” Baker said, addressing him directly.“You did not have the courtesy to respond at any time to the Manomet Village Steering Committee. If you expect the committees and the board members to abide by the rules, you have to lead by example.”
At that point, simmering tensions between Canty and Vice Chair David Golden over how Canty runs the board came to the fore. The two men barely made eye contact as they disagreed in terse exchanges about the delinquent appointees, even as they sat next to each other.
Golden agreed with Baker that the Select Board failed to enforce the town bylaw regarding taking an oath of office. He said Canty rejected his request to place the matter on the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting, citing a recent policy of only adding items with at least 10 days’ notice so board members and the public have time to review any relevant materials. The state’s Open Meeting Law, however, allows agenda items to be posted with just 48 hours’ notice.
“That might be a chairman’s prerogative rather than a policy,” Golden said of the 10-day period. “When an urgent issue like this comes up, we have to be more flexible, particularly when it’s a request of a duly elected selectperson.”
Golden said he wanted to revisit the 10-day policy and asked Canty to put it on the agenda for the next meeting at Town Hall.
Canty said a report detailing how many board and committee members are not in compliance could not be completed in time for members to review it Tuesday, adding that McElreath was able to produce one by Monday, just a day before the meeting. He agreed to put the topic on the board’s Sept. 23 agenda.
But that didn’t satisfy Golden, who went on to imply that there is a general dissatisfaction with how Canty is running meetings.
“This has become a pattern, I think,” he said. “Other board members have experienced this. They have requested to have items put on the agenda and whether or not I agree with those items, they have been clearly denied by the chair. So I think this is something that we have to address as a board. This is our agenda and we are all equal partners in this.”
Select Board member Bill Keohan chimed in, saying Golden “brings up a good point.”
It wasn’t the first time that the way Canty oversees meetings has been criticized.
During a contentious May 27 meeting, former chair Dick Quintal accused him of “ruling with a steel fist,” comparing him with President Trump. At that meeting, Canty denied Quintal’s request to put Canty’s decision to hold occasional meetings in Plymouth neighborhoods on the agenda for further discussion.
Quintal was not present at Tuesday’s meeting, but combined with Golden and Keohan’s dissent, it’s clear that Canty’s relationship with fellow board members has become increasingly tense.
Keohan, however, wanted to focus on what he believes is the core issue: Why so many people are opting not to be sworn in after being appointed to a board or committee.
Golden proposed what amounted to an amnesty period to rectify the problem: giving them until Sep. 17 to get sworn in. That, however, would conflict with the 30-day rule set forth in the bylaw.
Canty then said that about 90 people appointed in 2024 and 2025 have not been sworn in. (He later told the Independent he misspoke, and that the correct number is 66.)
He also pointed to a possible reason some appointees have failed to be sworn in before the 30-day period expires: the language in emails to them has not been precise.
“Some people are receiving a letter a couple of weeks later [telling them] to get sworn in within 30 days”, he said, pointing out that the emails do not specify whether the 30 days run from the date of the appointment or the date of the message.
He said the text of the town’s emails to appointees has now been updated so that in the future appointees will be aware that the 30-day timeframe starts with the day of their appointment.
Canty suggested that the board could re-appoint all 66 people who have not been sworn in as a slate on Sept. 23, giving them until Oct. 23 to take the oath as required.
Golden insisted on giving them only until close of business of Sept. 18 to comply. Board member Deb Iaquinto and Keohan agreed. Canty relented, saying the board would ask McElreath to inform appointees of the Sept. 18 deadline.
The board did not discuss what it might do if some or all of the 66 appointees decline to comply.
Fred Thys can be reached at fred@plymouthindependent.org.