Voice message from official leads to 'bullying' charge

By Nick Grabbe
Staff Writer
and Andrew Horton
Staff Writer

Published on May 18, 2007

One elected official has accused another of threatening political retribution over a comment following last week's failed tax override vote.

Andrew Churchill, chairman of the Amherst School Committee, said a message on his answering machine from Select Board member Rob Kusner "crossed the line" and amounted to "bullying."

The override vote, which failed by 267 votes, would have provided more money for schools and town services. Following the vote, Churchill was quoted in Wednesday's Gazette as saying, "Now what? We have no money, we have no plan, and we have no leadership."

--Hear an mp3 recording of the phone call from Selectman Rob Kusner to School Committee Chairman Andrew Churchill. (Click the link to listen, or right-click to download and save the file.)

Kusner, who like Churchill supported the override, called him at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday. Kusner left a voice message saying he was "disappointed" by Churchill's "divisive" comment, adding that "I provided the kind of leadership to try to reach out to those people on the fence."

"And I expect you, if you'd like to continue in your role in Amherst government, to talk to the press and to thank me publicly for my support for it," Kusner said. He added, "Because I think there are other things that are going on now behind the scenes that could have a major effect on the School Committee."

Churchill, who transcribed Kusner's message, called it "at best ego-driven and at worst anti-democratic."

"I really don't see this as being about me," he said. "It's about having standards of acceptable behavior for town leaders, and about protecting the authority and autonomy of the School Committee."

When Churchill made the "leadership" comment, he was speaking generally and Kusner took it personally, he said.

Asked whether he had left the message on Churchill's answering machine, Kusner said that he vaguely remembers calling Churchill early the morning after the override.

But regarding any political threat, Kusner said his comments were taken out of context by Churchill. Kusner said he initially called to vent his frustration with Churchill's disparaging comments and to thank him for his support in the override, not to threaten him.

"I was asking him to cooperate from the Select Board, as well as asking him to clarify his statements to the press," Kusner said. "Andy Churchill sharing a personal conversation with the press and putting it off as a threat is ridiculous."

Kusner said he was admittedly frustrated by Churchill's public statement denouncing the town's leadership, especially when he and other Select Board members had initially favored the override.

"I am a leader of the town, I am a chief executive of the town, and I don't see the difference between his public statement and my private statement to him," Kusner said. "I find it absolutely baffling that the guy leading the charge for the override would turn around and say that there's no leadership in this town."

The public airing of a personal message adds greatly to the dirty politics that has damaged the town, said Kusner.

"What he's doing is like the game of telephone, when someone says something on one end and it comes out completely different on the other end," Kusner said. "I'm shocked that he would even transcribe and share that conversation."

Kusner's term on the Select Board expires next year, and Churchill's name has been mentioned as a possible candidate. He said he has considered running for the board because it has more impact on revenues than the School Committee, but he hasn't made a decision.

Churchill said he and Gerry Weiss, chairman of the Select Board, have tried to increase communication between the two elected bodies. Churchill has called for a "summit" to address budget cuts required by the loss of the override.

"This kind of attempted bullying doesn't really help that process," he said.

Churchill expanded on his Gazette comment on an Internet site that's popular with parents of Amherst school children.

"Of course we have leaders, and a number of us did lead individually on the override, but the question is what kind of leadership we bring to the town together," he wrote.

"In the aftermath of the override vote, we currently don't have cohesive, united, vocal leadership on next steps."

Town leaders should focus on a "consensus plan" that they can aggressively support and that voters will approve, Churchill wrote. He suggested inviting override opponent Stanley Gawle to join the process.

"I believe that's what leadership demands: that we come together for the good of the town," he wrote.