A West Tisbury committee member who had been accused of having conflicts of interests for serving on two separate housing-related boards came out unscathed Wednesday, after the town’s select board chose not to take action on the matter.
In recent meetings, the West Tisbury Select Bboard had been tasked with deciding what to do with the knowledge of potential ethics violations by Jefrey DuBard, a member of the town’s affordable housing committee and Community Preservation committee, who had also been serving on the board of directors for the Island Housing Trust (IHT).
IHT, a nonprofit community land trust organization responsible for developing a number of affordable housing projects throughout Martha’s Vineyard, had previously been awarded a bid to develop the 401 State Road housing project in West Tisbury.
That project’s development is overseen by the town’s affordable housing committee.
Questions were raised after DuBard filed a State Ethics Conflict of Interest disclosure to the select board, along with statements that when the town’s housing committee convened to discuss IHT projects, he would recuse himself, or abstain from voting.
On Wednesday, select board chair Skipper Manter said that upon reviewing minutes from those meetings in question, “it showed something else.”
“That’s certainly of great concern to me,” he said. “You told us one thing, and we’re finding out something else has transpired.”
Manter referred to minutes from a January housing committee meeting where DuBard seconded motions pertaining to the configuration of the units for the 401 State Road. The minutes also showed that DuBard had participated in a vote.
On Wednesday, DuBard said that when he initially told the select board that he hadn’t participated in a vote, he “genuinely hadn’t recalled” doing so in the January meeting, and explained that any comment he made during that meeting was prefaced with a reminder that he also serves on the IHT board.
In a letter sent to the select board prior to Wednesday’s meeting, DuBard explained that he has since stepped down from his role on the board for the Island Housing Trust.
Select board member Jessica Miller noted that while DuBard’s position as chair of the affordable housing committee “feels a little precarious” under the circumstances, his resignation from the IHT board of directors shows “a commitment to the affordable housing committee.”
Still, she added that while she doesn’t believe DuBard acted with malicious intent, he did show “a clear lack of common sense of how one should behave on a board, previous to the resignation.”
Manter agreed. But “he’s been a good advocate for affordable housing,” he said, adding that DuBard’s actions were not for financial gain, and didn’t appear to have any ulterior motives.
The situation is “unfortunate,” he said.
Select board member Cynthia Mitchell stressed that DuBard exhibited a “lack of truthfulness,” and urged the board to “ask [him] to resign.”
She noted that the resignation would be for both the affordable housing committee and the Community Preservation committee.
“It’s a question of trust,” she said. “I think the bridge was burned.”
DuBard again denied any claim that he’d been knowingly deceptive, and reminded the board that he had filed the appearance of conflict-of-interest notice voluntarily.
When asked if he would resign, DuBard said he wouldn’t. “I don’t think that would, in any way, serve the cause for housing insecurity and affordable housing needs in our town,” he said.
“I resigned from the IHT board so that I could continue in this role,” he continued, adding that his recent actions were not intentionally mischievous; rather, it was “a lapse in judgment.”
“I’ve served in this town a long time,” DuBard said, noting his yearslong commitment to housing initiatives. “None of it is because of some self-interest … There was no intentional misrepresentation.”
DuBard added that January’s meeting came at a time that was “a chaotic and dysfunctional one for the board,” involving “people abruptly leaving,” and reorganization of the committee.
“I was doing a lot to try to keep it together,” he said.
A motion made by Mitchell to remove DuBard from the affordable housing committee was not supported.
“Complete removal is a little harsh,” Manter said.
He asked for any other motions; there was none.
“Jefrey continues to serve,” he said.
I used to want to return to my beloved island. Now I see it is just as corrupt and disgusting.
Are we better off without the malcontents?
More dirt digging and mudslinging from the West Tisbury Selectboard and their petty administrator. Please stop before you embarrass yourselves anymore than you already have. There’s nothing here and I’m pretty sure you all know that. Character assassination at it sloppiest. Let’s move on. There’s a lot of actual work to be done and this isn’t it.
Amy,
Is it really character assassination when you bring the gun, load the gun and then point it at yourself and THEN say “whoops, didn’t meant to do that!” once you realize that someone else is about to put their finger on the trigger?
Let this be a warning to anyone else that tries to get so involved in town politics that they forget their shoes are untied and then step on their own laces. People are watching and reading the minutes and rightfully so. This is yet another reason why all these meetings should be recorded and held for the public record.
Wasn’t it Bob Marley that said you can fool the people sometimes but you can’t fool all the people all the time? Good riddance!
I saw a few overlaps, or conflicts of interest, while I had a town job a few years ago. There are a few people who hold more than one official position. There were conflicts of interest between town departments, between one town and another town, and between a town and a non-profit organization. Those who hold multiple positions should not vote more than once on the same project, or vote at all if, for example, a town official is also the CEO of a non-profit that receives town funding. Ignoring Conflicts of Interest is unethical and using it to influence the outcome of a decision is illegal. The State provides free online training and requires all town employees and elected officials to pass the Conflict of Interest test annually. This State law is nothing to poo-poo; it prevents a local cabal from forming. Anyone can send a Conflict of Interest report to the State for review.
Newton’s seventh law:
The smaller the the town the more conflicts of interest.