Cusher says Thomas created ‘cloud of scandal,’ demands specifics

Dan Cusher, whose application for the Affordable Housing Trust was rejected by the Select Board Tuesday night, submitted the following open letter to Select Board Chairman Jennifer Thomas.

Jennifer Thomas,

I demand an explanation for the comments you made about me during the Select Board meeting on June 16, 2020. You said, “I can’t put my name next to somebody that I don’t feel like can represent the town in a positive manner.” You refused to give any details, claiming that you didn’t want to “churn up stuff” but that’s nonsense — you churned up stuff the moment you accused me of being incapable of representing the town in a positive manner. You have every right to that opinion and every right to vote accordingly, but if you’re going to make an accusation like that, I will demand to hear the specifics so that I can respond to them and defend myself.

By refusing to give any specifics, you’ve created an intangible cloud of scandal around me to which neither I nor anyone else can possibly respond. Your decision not to discuss any details has churned up stuff in the worst way possible. If your intention had truly been not to create a scandal, you would have given details that I could respond to, or withheld the statement entirely. Instead, you chose the worst of both worlds: an accusation left entirely to the imagination.

This is wildly unethical. You have used your power on the board, vested in you by the people and for the people, to throw me into the center of some scandal that I know literally nothing about aside from the fact that it’s a scandal. You owe me and every resident of Grafton a complete and public explanation.

Dan Cusher