Grafton Town Moderator Concaugh resigns — a week before Town Meeting
Town Moderator Daniel Concaugh submitted his resignation Wednesday afternoon, with little more than a week to go before the rescheduled fall Town Meeting on Halloween.
Concaugh, who was elected to replace longtime moderator Ray Mead in June, said he made sure to complete all preparations for Town Meeting, which was hastily rescheduled last week due to COVID-19 concerns about holding the meeting indoors. Town Meeting will now be held October 31 on the Grafton High School football field at 2 p.m..
“I would never leave the town in a lurch,” Concaugh said.
Concaugh said he did not make the decision to resign lightly.
“There are lots of things that are being said out there that are toxic and untrue,” he said, adding that he was concerned about the affect criticism was having on his family.
Last week, that included his decision to keep Town Meeting indoors without consulting the Board of Health. The combined Select Board and Finance Committee urged him to reconsider his stance, citing recent upticks in COVID-19 transmission in Grafton and statewide.
Concaugh also received pushback for his appointments to the Town Administrator Screening Committee after several people said he did not respond to their applications for the at-large seats. The Finance Committee also placed an article on the Town Meeting warrant calling for FinCom appointments to be made by a committee of the Town Clerk, a member of the Finance Committee and the Town Moderator, rather than at the sole discretion of the moderator.
Select Board Chairman Peter Carlson said the board is looking into who exactly will be running next week’s Town Meeting. He cited Mass. General Laws, Chapter 39, Section 14, which indicates if a moderator is not elected 30 days before Town Meeting, the Town Clerk will step in. However, Town Clerk Kandy Lavallee is on medical leave, likely until after the November 3 presidential election, in which case that may leave Carlson to act as moderator.
One person who will not be available for Town Meeting: Concaugh, who he said will be spending time elsewhere.
“I’m not going away,” he said. “I will continue to contribute to the town. I’ll just be doing it in a different way.”
