BRADFORD, Vt. — A Selectboard member and longtime town employee both have left their positions, a result of ongoing conflict among the town’s leaders.
Selectboard Vice Chairman Michael Wright resigned effective immediately at the end of the board’s Sept. 25 meeting.
That’s the same meeting where the board reviewed resignation letters from Gary Moore, who stepped down as the town’s emergency management director and chairman of the town’s Public Safety Commission on Sept. 15. Moore was the town’s emergency management director for 35 years and the only person to hold the position since it was created.
The two fresh resignations come on top of the departure in May of Selectboard member Dan Perry III, which came during a dispute over leadership of the town’s fire department. The town replaced longtime Fire Chief Ryan Terrill in April and several firefighters resigned in response.
Moore’s resignations also are connected to ongoing conflict surrounding the Bradford Fire Department.
“Apparently, I’m not trusted and I find that disturbing,” wrote Moore, who was the town’s emergency management director for 35 years and the only person to hold the role in Bradford history.
Moore resigned because the Selectboard had deactivated his key-code to access the Bradford Fire Department, which serves as the town’s emergency operations center. Moore used an office in the building and said without access he could not do his job, he wrote in the letter.
Moore was “not singled out as not being trusted for this position,” Selectboard Chairwoman Meroa “Peep” Benjamin said in a recording of the meeting. The board had decided to restrict access to the fire department bay to only firefighters because of recent “unfavorable activities around the bay area,” Benjamin said.
Administrative Assistant Danielle Kingsbury further indicated that there had been “damage” at the fire department and that has stopped since the codes were changed.
The board offered Moore an office in the Bradford Academy building in lieu of access to the fire department, Benjamin said. She erroneously asserted the building is the town’s designated emergency operations center.
However, the Bradford Emergency Management Plan — last updated in March — designates the Bradford Fire Station as the town’s primary emergency operations center.
The Selectboard was divided on Moore’s access to the fire station.
Wright said in a previous executive session, the board had not finalized the decision to restrict Moore’s access. He recalled officials had planned to talk with Moore and come back together for a final decision.
But because the conversation was held in an executive session, Wright said, “it’s my word against everybody else’s.”
Wright said Moore told him he could not work out of the Bradford Academy building because there is no room on the property for a tractor trailer or other staging for emergency services in the case of a disaster.
Later in the meeting, Wright made an unsuccessful attempt to him himself installed as the board’s chairman.
After two executive sessions to discuss pending litigation and a personnel matter, Wright announced that it seemed to be “time that we change leadership of the Selectboard.”
He introduced a motion to make himself chairman and have board member Josh Allen serve vice chairman.
But Allen joined Benjamin and Carole Taylor in voting against Wright’s motion. Only he and Jean Carlan voted in favor.
After the vote, Wright announced his resignation effective immediately.
“I know there’s pending lawsuits and I’m not putting my personal stuff at risk and that’s why I wanted to change the Selectboard’s leadership,” Wright said.
The litigation referenced by Wright had been discussed in executive session but the board did not identify what case they had discussed.
This isn’t the first time Wright has announced a resignation from the Selectboard.
After initially joining in February 2023, Wright submitted a letter of resignation this May at the same time as Perry. He indicated that he had received threats from Bradford firefighters and had been in conflict with Benjamin.
But Wright ultimately rescinded that resignation before the board voted to accept it.
This time, the remaining board members put off a discussion about filling his seat to a future meeting.
When Perry III resigned in May the board held an August special election where voters chose Carlan, who will serve until Town Meeting in March.
The Selectboard is scheduled to meet again Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Bradford Academy building.
