Vincent Missing in Action?
Where on Earth is Carmen San Diego Jennifer Vincent?
It could be due to summer scheduling conflicts. Or it could be from overdoing it at the 250th. But Berkley Selectwoman Jennifer Vincent was notably absent, leaving Chairwoman Tabitha McCrohan to run the meeting largely on her own while helping coach new Selectman Bob Longton through another difficult session.
Vincent has looked especially frustrated and weary in recent months. The Board of Selectmen had a long spring with an uphill battle on an override question that is now necessitating budget cuts and layoffs. Add to that a toxic group of current and former elected and appointed officials bathed in Old Berkley politics who are working overtime to make McCrohan and Vincent fail. And because it’s Berkley, both Selectwomen have been routinely harassed and stalked by a malicious group for months, with physical threats and online harassment.
If we were a betting website, we’d be putting our chips on Vincent not running again in May 2027. We’d also put a small wager on McCrohan going with her in lockstep at the same time leaving fine, young Town Administrator Matt Chabot to manage four brand new Selectmen while dragging Bob Longton around. And that says a lot about Berkley – all of it bad. When the forever optimist Jen Vincent doesn’t think you can be fixed, then you are probably a lost cause. But that’s what you get with a Town where too many residents seem to value trash more than they do teachers.
It paints a stark picture. For as much as McCrohan and Vincent have done to right the ship, they can’t convince part of Berkley to help save all of it. And because of that, there’s not much work for either of them to do which is going to change the path to financial ruin that Berkley is on.
Now send in the Clowns!
Dave Patrick Doesn’t Get Re-appointed. Again
Today’s BOS meeting was, for the most part, a rather ho-hum affair that took a stunning turn during public input. At the beginning of the meeting Conservation Commission Chairman Dave Patrick’s re-appointment was tabled for the second meeting in a row.
Patrick’s re-appointment was not originally on the agenda for the June 29th meeting either. But on Monday morning the Board of Selectmen apparently attempted a last minute agenda revision to sneak him on in what appears to be a possible violation of Massachusetts open meeting law. The revision wasn’t publicly posted by the Town Clerk until after the meeting had begun.
Members of the public complained that it looked like the last minute appointment addition was an ambush of sorts, snuck onto the agenda without notice or transparency. There are residents who intended to speak out against the Patrick had they seen this on the agenda. Sensing the pushback, Board tabled the re-appointment a second time. There remains a lot of controversy around Patrick but it appears that the Board may only be looking at his willingness to do the work and completely ignoring an integrity issue lurking in the back of the room.
Silent Bob 2: Electric Boogaloo
During the public input part of the agenda we finally learned substantially more about who and what Bob Longton will be as a Selectman. Longton addressed relatively benign questions with non answers, evasive answers, or claimed to not remember the answers to subjects which he has deliberated and voted on for the last month. And then the meeting took a turn for the worse as it concerns Berkley as a Town but good for you the residents. We are beginning to develop a better understanding of what Bob Longton stands for. The answer: Not much. After about 5 minutes, Longton moved from being completely evasive in his answers, to refusing to answer any questions at all.
In at least the last 20 years of watching meetings, we cannot recall a Selectman who has ever refused to answer a question in a public meeting. They may have made mistakes or had to respond to pressure under intense questioning that they didn’t like, but no Selectman has refused to answer questions as part of public input.
Ever.
As you all recall Longton ran a write-in campaign this spring under the Slogan of “Transparency”. He did so while making only one public appearance which was mostly attended by his family, skipping out on the candidates night forum, and not having any type of public profile during the campaign. He has been a ghost as a selectman, barely participating in discussion. When he does speak it’s usually to ask a question about an agenda item that he hasn’t prepared for.
The questions Longton refused to answer were not terribly difficult although the subject matter remains somewhat charged after the breakdown in election operations this spring and the upending of the Annual Town Meeting by Moderator George Miller.
We watched the meeting and here were the topics Longton was evasive on or gave a non-answer entirely:
- On the removal of public input from Board of Selectmen agendas
- The lack of public disclosure by Town Moderator George Miller ahead of the Annual Town Meeting that he is planning to move out of Berkley
- Election Integrity and the future of the Town Clerk’s Office as an Elected Role
- The Ruby Linn Grant to rehabilitate St Yves Field
And finally the question that caused Mumblin’ Bob to become Silent Bob once again:
- Are you familiar with the 2025 Department of Revenue Division of Local Service’s 2025 Management Review of Berkley Town operations?
To her credit Board of Selectman Chairwoman Tabitha McCrohan answered every question she was asked, even the difficult ones, while Bob Longton shrunk in his chair looking for the exit. But it shouldn’t ever be to McCrohan’s credit. Because answering questions, even the ones you don’t like, is one of the expectations that you should have for your Board of Selectmen. You voted for them because they marketed themselves as open, honest, transparent, and accountable.
Shouldn’t you demand that they uphold their end of the bargain in return?
Just like the Meatloaf song title says, 2 out 3 Ain’t Bad. After declining to answer multiple questions on issues he has voted on, Longton left many residents to decide for themselves whether he is prepared for the role and engaged as a Selectman. Thus far Longton has failed to display any sort of participation, accountability or transparency. If anything one could ask: Is Bob Longton holding onto a seat and making a mockery of it for someone else’s benefit? Why is he there if he’s not prepared to work for Berkley?
Moving along, also having a tough morning in municipal town government was the usually affable but still wet behind the ears Town Administrator Matthew Chabot. Chabot attempted to intercede on Longton’s behalf when Bob stopped talking, even though Bob was being asked some rather benign questions. But not because he’s a Longton supporter – he’s anything but that.
Chabot appears to think the public should have the right to speak up to the point that it is no longer comfortable or useful to him. According to a number of accounts he was influential in supporting a part of the Board of Selectmen to limit public input in 2024, which was later dropped. He is also believed to have been involved with crafting the Conservation Commission limitation on public input with no discussion this spring. After being rebuffed in his attempt to limit discussion to save Longton during the meeting from the Town Administrator/Unelected 4th Selectman seat, Chabot took the floor as a private citizen.
Several times from the lectern Chabot referred to being able to have plenty of free speech when we go home. Sorry, but that’s not the way it works young fella. Mr. Chabot may know how to pencil whip a spreadsheet but he still has a long…long way to go when it comes to understanding free speech, public input, and the public’s right to ask their elected officials questions. Even the uncomfortable ones.
Smarten up Berkley.
The Berkley Crime Report has a lot of dirt on these corrupt townies but we’re always looking for more. Drop your dirt to editor@berkleycrimereport.com. Anonymity is guaranteed.
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