Paradis: Conflict arises yet again, as Somersworth mayor silences dissent
Nearly two years ago, I announced that I was running for mayor of Somersworth, in part because I believed an already problematic conflict of interest was getting much worse with our mayor, Dana Hilliard, being promoted from Somersworth Middle School principal to assistant superintendent. Even those not familiar with our city government understand the concept of “separation of powers.” Having someone preside over the meetings that approve the budget requests that he submits is textbook conflict of interest.
In a 2013 legal opinion on a school district employee running for mayor, instances were outlined where there would be a clear conflict of interest, where he should recuse himself, but the fact that the mayor no longer sat on the School Board was grounds for the conclusion that he would be able to run for mayor.
And yet, it was a Feb. 27 School Board meeting where Mr. Hilliard reprimanded a school board member for asking a question. Having just been told that the school truancy officer reported to “Dana” (referred only to by first name), and that the officer was paid by the School Board but collected fines on behalf of the city, School Board member Mandy Demers reasonably asked if the truancy officer reported to Dana the city mayor or Dana the assistant superintendent. This very valid query was met with immediate offense by Mr. Hilliard, sitting a few feet from his mayor’s office door, who claimed he only ever had one title when sitting in that chair and asked her to refer to him with that title, still not answering Ms. Demers’ question of how his city and School Board roles were defined in this instance.
This inappropriate treatment of a School Board member, for asking a reasonable question, sadly does not come as a surprise to me, as I am one of many with the unfortunate experience of being the receiving end of sudden outbursts, yelling, bullying and verbal abuse from Mr. Hilliard.
These emotional outbursts would be concerning even if they didn’t result, just this week, in him silencing public discourse during the public comments portion of Monday night’s City Council meeting. Those watching at home might have been surprised when the live video feed cut out mid-sentence as School Board chair Maggie Larson was reading from a city charter statute. Why would citing a law be silenced and then characterized by Mr. Hilliard, during the recess he called (after shutting down the video livestream and turning off Ms. Larson’s microphone), as a “gross accusation?" Why, just a few minutes later, when resident Maddie DeSantis Wysocki expressed outrage at the intimidation and bullying tactics of this mayor/assistant superintendent, was she cut off and gaveled down again? It seems the mere mention of his full-time job (with its nearly-highest Somersworth-taxpayer-funded salary) is a very sore subject. He claims council rules prohibit discussions of city employees — is he referring to himself there? As a city employee, can he, even when acting as mayor, claim to be above accountability, with immunity from public speech?
Mr. Hilliard and Superintendent Lori Lane often remind folks that his official school-related title is “director of school district operations,” even though his forthcoming promotion was multiply reported in the press and referred to at School Board meetings as “assistant superintendent.” Of course, Mr. Hilliard is not certified to be an assistant superintendent, so another title was necessary. One might rightly wonder why so many rules are bent for this one man.
Losing an election is always disappointing, but what bothered me the most about this loss was thinking of all the people who came forward to me throughout the campaign, who were scared for their jobs or political future if they ever spoke out about his behavior publicly, but who were so desperate to see this corruption end. This week, again, I can’t help but think of the words of Audre Lorde, “What are the tyrannies you swallow day by day and attempt to make your own, until you will sicken and die of them, still in silence?”
Crystal Paradis is a resident and taxpayer of Somersworth, a former at-large Somersworth city councilor and a former candidate for mayor of Somersworth.
This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: Paradis: Conflict arises again, as Somersworth mayor silences dissent
