LETTER: Thoughts on the May 5 Waterbury Select Board meeting
May 8, 2025I attended the Select Board meeting Monday night (May 5) to hear updates on the town’s proposal to buy the land at the corner of Park Row and Randall Street from the state for housing development. During public comment, I planned to start by thanking the Select Board members for their service to the town before brief comments about the proposal. Personally, I would like to see the town wait on this new project (within the floodplain) until the construction of the apartments on Main Street is completed and assess the results.
I stayed for other business as I was interested in how the topic of the ethics complaint and the School Board appointment would play out. What I witnessed was a complete lack of civility and outright bullying. I believe I can be as unbiased as a person can be on this issue. I follow the Select Board agendas and minutes, but rarely attend meetings. I have never met Tori Taravella. I don’t personally know the other School Board members or candidates that were put forward.
This segment of the meeting began with Town Manager Tom Leitz explaining what a conflict of interest is and what it isn’t. He then projected on the screen the town’s policy and explained that Select Board members are free to attend community meetings outside of their Select Board role to offer their opinions as citizens. He explained there is an ethics complaint form and that nobody had filled one out yet. Leitz recommended that before someone makes strong, public accusations, they should read the policy and definitions and take the time to file a complaint. Ethics complaints, whether they are warranted or not, can have career-altering consequences.
That didn’t deter several individuals who just came to the meeting to chastise and demean. They went up to the mic and looked straight at Select Board member Tori Taravella, and launched into her like she was their teenage child who skipped school, crashed the family car and lied about it. Let’s be clear about what Tori is being accused of. The Select Board recently voted to recommend two candidates for the School Board to consider since the town didn’t elect anyone. Tori attended the subsequent School Board meeting and spoke (as a member of the public) in favor of a different candidate. Other members of the public were given time to speak and the School Board had the opportunity to select whomever they wanted. They opted to select one of the two people the Waterbury Select Board recommended. For the second seat, the School Board selected another candidate.
If you need a place to express your frustration, you are welcome to point to the fact that the School Board wasn’t obligated to accept the two folks the Select Board recommended. If you think Tori went against the will of the town voters, you are not correct there. The town voters did NOT elect any new representatives to the school board. No candidates were on the ballot! Tori went to the meeting as a knowledgeable citizen who cares about her community and spoke in favor of someone she thought would do well in the role. And for this she gets blasted on social media, on Waterbury Roundabout and in person. You are welcome to disagree with Tori’s advocacy for a candidate that wasn’t one of the Select Board’s choices, but she was well within her rights to do so and shouldn’t have had to apologize.
If you’re mad about higher property taxes, bullying a person who cares about their community just as much as anyone isn’t the correct outlet. If you want to be outraged, go talk to an elementary school bus driver in town and ask them how many folks speed past their stop sign when kids are getting off the bus. Or get angry that every year, without fail, it rains for the Waterbury Gravel Grinder fundraiser for area trails.
If you want smart, thoughtful, caring people to volunteer their time to serve in important roles like the Select Board and School Board, you need to treat them with respect. A disagreement of ideas or process is great, but civility and kindness matter.
I was impressed with Tori’s bravery and composure in the face of unfair attacks. I hope she doesn’t lose her enthusiasm for public service and love of her community. Meetings like last night are why it is hard to find qualified, passionate people to serve.
Thank you again to those who serve our communities. Kindness and respect build community.
Michael Griffith
Waterbury