Great Barrington — In weighing the merits of removing an elected official from her position for alleged bullying and inappropriate behavior, members of the Great Barrington Selectboard found themselves in a tight spot. But in the end, the standard for removal was too high, though the board expressed strong disapproval of her actions, with one member even saying he, too, had been bullied by the same woman.
Karen Smith, the brash, bold and outspoken community activist who chairs the Great Barrington Housing Authority board, listened during a hearing Wednesday night at the Claire Teague Senior Center as witnesses accused her of practicing nepotism, creating an environment of “toxicity,” and exhibiting “aggressive and hostile behavior.”
As selectboard Chairman Steve Bannon outlined in a Nov. 27 letter to Smith, the board received two letters of complaint: one from Marlene Koloski, a tenant at Flag Rock Village, which is managed by the housing authority; and another from Michelle Loubert, who worked for several months as the authority’s administrative assistant but resigned in May over “negative issues present at the housing authority.”
The hearing was delayed for 15 minutes as the selectmen awaited the arrival of town counsel David Doneski, who was stuck in traffic on the Mass Pike. But when he sat down at the table, Doneski outlined the procedure for the hearing, which had the feel of a courtroom proceeding.
Bannon had explained in a memorandum before the hearing that state law allows the selectboard to remove a housing authority member for “inefficiency, neglect of duty or misconduct.”
Bannon asked Koloski, Loubert and their witnesses to come forward. Koloski read her letter. Click here to view it. Koloski listed three examples that occurred this past summer of what she termed Smith’s “outlandish behavior.”
See video below of the opening statements by town counsel David Doneski, along with the complainants and witnesses against Karen Smith:
Koloski said Smith had shouted at tenants, some of whom have dementia and are frail and “easily intimidated.” Smith also slammed a door after talking to an elderly tenant,” and could be “heard screaming at” former housing authority director Vera Cartier. In addition, Smith recommended her friend, Karen Lewis, to replace Loubert, an act that Koloski characterized as “nepotism.”
Among those called as witnesses to support Koloski were Jane Green, Shannon Sinico and Jacqueline Sinico, a member of the housing authority board. The housing authority manages 112 units for senior, disabled and low-income tenants at Flag Rock, Brookside in Great Barrington and Dewey Court in Sheffield. A tenants’ association was recently formed.
“You can’t treat people like that at the housing, especially the elderly, because the lady she slammed the door on has come out of her apartment twice since that happened,” Koloski told the board.
Koloski and other tenants have had other complaints against the housing authority and former executive director Barbara Heaphy over the years, including a dispute over a “systemic mold problem” at Flag Rock. In addition, Koloski’s 86-year-old uncle, Korean war veteran Henry A. “Bud” Lawrence Jr., died in 2016 after his walker was caught in a hole in the sidewalk at Flag Rock, a condition for which she said the housing authority was “fully responsible due to their negligence of not repairing the sidewalks over the last several years.”
In her complaint (click here to read it), Loubert, a member of the town finance committee, wrote of a “pattern of disrespect and intimidation shown towards me.” Loubert recalled, among other incidents, a housing authority meeting she attended in late October at which Smith announced that Tina Danzy was hired to become interim executive director, replacing Cartier, who had earlier agreed to resign.
Loubert said she and two journalists covering the meeting asked for copies of Danzy’s resume but Smith refused because Danzy had not yet notified her employer at the time. When Loubert challenged her and insisted the resume was public information, Smith became “extremely angry” and moved toward Loubert “forcing me up against the hallway wall.” Both Smith and housing authority board vice chairman Jim Mercer disputed Loubert’s characterization of the incident.
Loubert said the two journalists, Kristin Palpini of the Berkshire Eagle and Joel Williams of the Berkshire Record, had consulted with their editors and declined her request to appear as witnesses at the hearing. Smith later denied “assaulting” Loubert and said Loubert’s recollection of the incident “is suspect at best.”
While Koloski openly called for Smith’s removal, Loubert called on the selectmen “to take whatever action within their authority on the egregious conduct of elected official Karen Smith.”
Smith was represented by her lawyer, Richard Dohoney, who was recently tapped to become deputy district attorney to Berkshire County District Attorney-elect Andrea Harrington.
See video below of attorney Richard Dohoney defending Karen Smith and a series of witnesses who supported her:
Dohoney chastised the board for allowing hearsay evidence to be presented. He then outlined the law and the legal procedure for the hearing. Click here to read his memo on the law.
Then he promptly presented a March 30, 2018, email from Sue Honeycutt, the housing authority’s accountant, to Carolina Gonzalez, a housing management specialist for the state. The message outlines what Dohoney called “grave and serious financial improprieties which were going on at the board” while Cartier was heading the housing authority. Click here to read Honeycutt’s email.
Dohoney did not attempt to dispute in detail the recollection of the incidents by Smith’s antagonists. But he emphasized that the points of dispute are not about misconduct or malfeasance, but rather are the result of “policy differences” and “personality differences.” He added that, “Errors in judgement are not grounds for removal.”
Dohoney and Mercer described Smith as candid and blunt—”She’s not sugar-coated,” Mercer quipped—but emphasized that she works hard, has a talent for getting things done and has a long history of service to the town.
Smith is well-known and beloved by some in the community. She currently chairs the parks commission and sits on the Community Preservation Committee. Smith also led the public relations effort for the unsuccessful 2014 campaign to convince taxpayers to approve more than $50 million for a reconstruction project for Monument Mountain Regional High School. Smith is co-founder of the SawaSawa Foundation.
“Part of the problem we had is things were not getting done and they needed to get done,” Smith told the selectmen. “And that’s what I did.”
Lewis, who replaced Loubert as administrative assistant, also spoke in support of Smith, who was next to speak. Smith recounted financial problems and disputed many of the allegations against her. Then she spoke more broadly about her style before sitting down:
“I’ve lived in this community 40 years. Is my style perfect? Absolutely not. I am direct and I’ll not apologize for it … and I’m sorry for how uncomfortable this is for all involved.” Smith added that she did later apologize to Cartier for yelling at her.
“The sole thing to be adjudicated is her fitness to fulfill the obligation to the voters who put her into this office,” said Dohoney, who noted that Smith is up for reelection in May. “It’s whether she is so unfit for office that this board can substitute their judgement for that of the voters.”
All five board members were clearly troubled by the accusations. One of them, Ed Abrahams, said he had himself been “bullied” by Smith, though he did not elaborate.
Selectman Dan Bailly said the problems are well-known at Flag Rock and “you guys deserve something better. Unfortunately, that’s not what we’re here to discuss.”
“I don’t tolerate bullying and rude behavior,” added Bannon. “If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a hundred times: There can be no room for disrespect. There can be disagreement without disrespect.”
Bannon said the events of the evening put “us between a rock and hard place.” But, as Doneski suggested, Bannon agreed that Smith’s transgressions do not rise to the standard for removal under state law. And so a motion to remove Smith failed by a margin of 0–5.
Bailly suggested that the housing authority consider appointing a new chairman since it is within that panel’s right to do so. The authority meets next Tuesday, Dec. 18, at 2 p.m. at Flag Rock.
