THE BERKLEY ACCOUNTABILITY PROJECT

Town Clerk Heather Almy Remains Silent

As we disclosed to you recently, Berkley’s election fiasco has now produced a final price tag: $6,121.28.The Real Costs of Berkley’s Recount: $6,100 and a Lesson in Accountability

As part of that discussion, we examined the motivations for Bob Longton pushing those costs to the taxpayers of a struggling small town, as well as the return on investment and early failings of Selectman Longton. As outlined, serious questions are being asked more frequently and with a rising sense of concern that Longton is not qualified and fit for the role.

Today we turn to the other side of the Berkley election recount and examine the role of the Town Clerk’s office and prominent voices in Berkley politics. There are questions that need to be asked about their roles in this regrettable affair.

The reality it two things can both be true at the same time.

• The administration of Berkley’s May election had a breakdown in operations and failed the voters.
• The recount also cost taxpayers thousands of dollars unnecessarily.

These facts are not mutually exclusive. In fact, the two events are inextricably linked. One cannot happen without the other. And for all of the drama and angst that has been on display for the last 2 months, there are still open questions that remain. Many see the fallout as a failure of leadership within the Town Clerk’s Office and continue to wait for a meaningful response, one that acknowledges what occurred, accepts responsibility where it belongs, and includes a sincere apology to those affected.

Accountability is not tied to a political party. Local government is supposed to be centered on direct service to residents and efficient operations; focused on getting to correct and legal results with economy and speed. The Town Clerk has not taken the lead on this issue and employed the above principles in any meaningful way. Instead, it appears to have been pushed over to the Board of Selectmen to address publicly. The public rightly has questions and concerns about this and Ms. Almy should make herself available in a public forum to to so.

Ms. Almy has other issues with election integrity to address as well. Those problems have so far remained outside the view of a public which has the right to know. Lost in the drama of the recount is that there were complaints sent to the Town Clerk regarding the behavior of poll workers during the May 9th election. We learned of potential interference and have obtained the public records to substantiate the rumors. We can confirm that voters called out election worker Kerrie Anne Samson Auclair for poll interference. Ms. Samson Auclair has been accused of attempting to look at the ballots of voters as they were cast into the ballot machines. The Board of Selectmen appoint and re-appoint poll workers. It remains to be seen if Chairwoman Tabitha McCrohan will address this in the near future, or if she has even been informed of any of this by Almy, as she continues to answer questions in public meetings that the embattled Town Clerk should be responsible for.

Let’s also remember that ensuring accountability isn’t just the responsibility of elected officials. It doesn’t stop when we consider appointed town employees either. It also applies to candidates, activists, and anyone who makes public claims without evidence. Many have become turned off from public service at all levels because of a growing culture of toxicity. Locally, many wonder if Berkley’s perspective on accountability is lacking among and between all of these constituencies.

For example, here once again is local social media darling Noel Edgren attempting to stoke rumor and innuendo by fabricating the possibility of less than ethical behavior by Selectwoman Jennifer Vincent.

Having documented all of this, let’s take a moment and consider where all of this leaves us. We have the Town Clerk, an elected official who campaigned for your vote, but refusing to honor it by being accountable to you publicly for the recount. We have questions about the integrity of poll workers on election day, which the Town of Berkley should have disclosed proactively through the Town Clerk as well. We have a Board of Selectmen hobbled by an underperforming Selectman who gained the seat under circumstances that remain somewhat dubious. And we have a political climate among the loudest voices on social media that is as deliberately toxic as anything that we can recall.

We’re no longer working on mysteries without any clues. We are forming a much better picture of Berkley’s election and Town Hall woes as questions continue to be asked. The biggest question is when does Town Clerk Heather Almy, who asked the voters to re-elect her to that role this spring, begin to approach the work with the seriousness of a professional appointee? And given that she hasn’t it would seem incumbent upon the Board of Selectmen to recognize that and move to make the Town Clerk position appointed through a Town Meeting vote as was recommended by the 2025 fiscal management review. The ONLY supervisor elected officials have are the PEOPLE and only the people can hold them accountable. If the town doesn’t want to engage and hold elected officials accountable or provide management and oversight – someone has to do it, or the residents have no reason to complain when things go awry. Can’t have it both ways folks.

While we wait patiently for answers, the public’s perception of integrity doesn’t.

As always, there is more to come.

Smarten up Berkley

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