Yesterday, in an email to their members, the Hopkinton Democratic Town Committee (HDTC) urged a letter writing campaign in support of Kyla McSweeney for School Committee. Chair of the HDTC, Amy Groves wrote:
“I urge you to either: Appear at the joint meeting to speak in favor of Kyla during the public comment period, OR Write a letter to the members of these two boards in advance of the meeting.“
The email then went on to list a series of McSweeney’s qualifications and the individual addresses of Select Board and School Committee members as well as Superintendent of Schools Carol Cavanaugh and Town Manager Elaine Lazarus.
This action occurs against the backdrop of non-partisan elections being adopted at Special Town Meeting in late 2023.
Separately, it has been widely reported that a whisper campaign designed to discredit McSweeney’s opponent, Brendan Tedstone, has made its way around town, citing an incident at a youth lacrosse game several years ago in which Mr. Tedstone got into an argument with one of the referees. Mr. Tedstone served on the Select Board at the time; the matter was investigated by the Select Board, who found no credible evidence to sanction him.
This incident was first brought to HopNews’ attention on May 24, 2024 by former HDTC Chair Darlene Hayes, who falsely accused Tedstone in a text message of being “drunk and disorderly” at the game. HopNews independently confirmed that there was a police incident logged by Officer Phil Powers, that the incident lasted less than one minute and that no criminal charges were filed.
Further to tonight’s vote, according to several reports, Select Board members Shahidul Mannan and Mary Jo Lafreniere are being heavily pressured by the HDTC to cast their vote for McSweeney. Lafreniere, who is the Democratic State Committee Woman for Middlesex & Norfolk District, has reportedly been accused by members of her party of racism for voting for Brian Herr for Chair of the Select Board over Mr. Mannan on May 21. Mr. Mannan subsequently resigned from the HDTC.
The Select Board and School Committee meet tonight at HCAM Studios. The meeting can be streamed below.
You can’t make this stuff up! I can’t wait for the Netflix series.
Hayes just can’t help herself can she. Libel is communicating a defamatory statement in writing i.e. text, newspaper, magazine etc. Hayes’ statement that Mr. Tedstone was drunk and disorderly and the fact HPD found no wrongdoing certainly seems to be defamation. Also, since when is it racist to vote for a white person?
Mary-Jo is NOT a racist! Stop bullying her for crying out loud. It was her decision to make and she chose Brian Herr for Select Board chair. How does that make her a racist? Stop it!
If the HDTC would stop their tantrums, and look how much the Select Board has actually accomplished in the short amount of time since Mary-Jo’s decision, they would celebrate her.
This just proves that the HDTC doesn’t care about the town, they only care about their own corrupt agenda.
We need Brendon Tedstone; he’s a fiscal conservative who will stand up to Rebecca Abate.