“Did he really say that?” Select Board Member Deb Iaquinto wondered when she heard shouting coming from the rear of the auditorium during Saturday’s town meeting.
It was Jeff Fosdick, Precinct 11 vice chair, yelling “Suck it, Lantagne!” at Lisa Lantagne, a Town Meeting member on the losing side of an agenda item he supported.
His outburst was so loud that those in the front of the Plymouth North High School auditorium could hear Fosdick, who was in the back.
The episode sparked immediate reaction, and continuing calls for Fosdick to resign or be removed as a town meeting member.
As soon as it happened, some members asked the police officer on duty, or Town Moderator Steve Triffletti, to do something. The officer said she could not, members said.
Alexis Coon, a Town Meeting member, spoke to Triffletti from the floor:
“I am extremely bothered by the statement that was made back there by a fellow precinct member. I’m just wondering at what level do we remove somebody from this room because that could have been considered sexual harassment and I’m very bothered by it.”
From the dais, Triffletti warned: “If people are acting inappropriately you’ll be asked to be removed.” He later said it was the only action he could take as long as the “offender” stopped behaving inappropriately.
The comment came after a seemingly innocuous vote to pay for a sewer line extension at the airport, where Jeff’s father, Kenneth Fosdick, chairs the Airport Commission.
It was an unremarkable motion apparently taking on added significance because of a longstanding feud between Airport officials and the airport’s neighbors.
Lantagne, an airport critic who lived near the airport for 38 years before she said increasing noise levels drove her to move, alleged the new sewer line was just another barely concealed step in the airport’s effort to expand.
She calmly told Town Meeting members the article had not been discussed publicly before it appeared on the town meeting agenda and accused the Airport Commission of acting out of public view. She urged her colleagues to vote it down.
“This consistent lack of transparency is unacceptable,” she said. “When the airport disrespects the neighbors and the process they disrespect all of us. This sewer line extension project is not needed for current operations.”
Ken Fosdick stood up to say the sewer line extension had been discussed “often, four years ago, when this came up, all right?”
He said the airport needs the extension to accommodate businesses interested in locating at the airport. “This is not aviation related,” he said. The elder Fosdick recently filed a lawsuit against Town officials alleging unlawful interference in airport issues. The judge in the case just issued an injunction barring Town Manager Derek Brindisi from getting involved in airport affairs.
Airport Commissioner and Town Meeting Member Christopher Merrill said the panel has always been “completely transparent.”
After some debate, the motion passed by a vote of 90-58.
That’s when Jeff Fosdick, gloating over the Airport Commission’s victory, blurted out: “Suck it, Lantagne!”
He later acknowledged his outburst was inappropriate, and emailed apologies to all Town Meeting members and a separate one to Lantagne and her husband, Steve.
In a statement to the Independent, Fosdick again apologized for his “crass and inappropriate” comment at town meeting, saying it “was more fitting for the bleachers of Fenway Park than for the official proceeding that it was.”
He resigned his position as vice chair of the Precinct 11 Town Meeting committee “out of respect to the assembly, and to those offended by my remark.’
“I will step away from leadership until such time as I can regain the trust and confidence of my fellow precinct members,” his statement said.
Not to excuse his behavior, Fosdick tried to put it into context.
“Over the past several years, the individuals involved in the motion that I reacted to, have repeatedly lied about and misrepresented the positions of my father, as Airport Commissioner and the Commission itself.
“The lie is that there is some secret plan he and the commission are executing to expand the airport, which is simply preposterous. There is no plan for expansion, as verified by the FAA, the state and the commission itself, but these folks would prefer to tell all who will listen that it is real. “
He said it is “very frustrating” to see his father, who has given “literally thousands of hours” to the community, “repeatedly attacked and accused of misleading the public,” he wrote. “Again, this is not an excuse, it was wrong for me to break decorum at the meeting regardless of my emotions.”
His apologies and explanation, however, did not satisfy the Lantagnes, and some other Town Meeting members who believe Fosdick should be disciplined.
“He should resign from any position representing the town,” Lantagne wrote in a text message. “He should be banned from any future positions that represent the town.”
In an email sent to Triffletti and Select Board members, another resident who acknowledged opposing the town meeting item, said Fosdick should be removed “from any and all town positions.”
Anything less, wrote the woman who asked that she not be named for fear of retribution, would send “the wrong message to not only Town Meeting, but the women of Plymouth.”
Precincts chairs discussed the incident for nearly an hour Thursday night, resolving to come up with a plan to address any disruptions at future town meetings.
Several members argued that action should have been taken immediately — to make sure Lantagne was safe and Fosdick was spoken to. They asked why the police officer on duty failed to act.
“This bordered on what might be a criminal act and it was totally disregarded by our system,” said Precinct 10 Chair Alan Costello. “We can’t let this kind of thing happen again. It’s a black eye for the body, in my opinion.”
Matt Tavares, the chair of the committee, said the group has no authority to remove a town meeting member, but reminded the chairs of “guiding principles” urging them to treat each other civilly and with respect.
The select board also has no way to hold elected officials accountable, two board members said.
But Bill Keohan said the board can review standards of decorum and possibly take action.
“We cannot disregard this as a few words in a heated moment.” he said. “I’ll be bringing it up with my board, looking for ways to address it.”
Iaquinto said though there’s little the board can do, it can draft a code of conduct to allow public censure of officials who misbehave.
“People are real tired of elected officials not being held accountable for their bad behavior,” she said. “It’s not okay. It’s really awful and if we don’t hold people accountable they will think it’s okay to do that because there are no consequences.”
Voters may decide if Jeff Fosdick should stay or go. He is up for reelection in May.
Andrea Estes can be reached at andrea@plymouthindependent.org.