Leaves Berkley MA gig after only six weeks
By Will Collette
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| Stonewall Stankiewicz |
They bitterly attacked the new Charlestown Town Council
majority that swept the CCA out of
power last November for forcing such a nice man out of his job.
Here’s what the CCA wrote:
Do not be fooled! This is a FORCED, not a voluntary, resignation. Mark has served the town masterfully for ten years and has no desire to leave.
He is being forced out to avoid being fired because of ongoing difficulties with the Council President unrelated to his outstanding performance as Town Administrator.
The CCA’s own Mikey Chambers
took his invective to Biblical heights:
“The people responsible for forcing Mark out of his job will be judged on their humanity and character and cannot be absolved from this heinous act unless they publicly come clean. It is not my place to forgive them this sin, they sinned in public and need to seek redemption in public."
Even though Stankiewicz told
everyone who asked (including me) that “I work for the CCA,” - not the town, not the people - his party loyalty
to the CCA only ran so deep.
Unbeknownst to the CCA, he actually DID have a desire to leave. He worked out a deal to become Berkley MA town administrator months before the November election.
He was not, as the CCA and Mikey
Chambers claim, forced out, although I felt he should be bounced for reasons I
detailed HERE.
He began the Berkley job immediately on the SAME DAY as his last official day in Charlestown on February 13.
As I wrote HERE,
not only did Stankiewicz make the CCA look stupid, but he also seemed to be
jumping into a pretty messed up town where most of its top staff had quit
during the summer of 2022.
After the initial fanfare
over his hiring in Berkley, it didn’t take long for Stankiewicz to bail. The Berkley Board of Selectmen’s agenda shows his resignation on March 29, effective April
22.
He lasted six weeks. Two members of the Board of Selectmen resigned at the same time. Berkley records don’t show any detail and apparently the town waits until the end of the year to publish its minutes.
The Taunton Gazette loosely follows town news
and did not report any detail about Stankiewicz’s recent departure or the
numerous other resignations.
We don’t know whether Berkley
asked for his resignation or whether he found yet another job.
Berkley held a special election on May 6 to replace their governing board. They named Stankiewicz’s
predecessor as his successor, at least on an interim basis.
The Taunton Gazette
interviewed the new Selectmen, but none of them wanted to talk about what
happened to cause Stankiewicz’s departure and all the other resignations.
Joseph Freitas’s remarks were classic:
"You hear stories about how Berkley is run. But it still has its rural charm, and I like that charm. And I would like it to be maintained to the best of my ability. What happened was all based on individual decisions.”
Sounds like the kind of
answer you give if you’re worried about a lawsuit or are party to a non-disclosure
agreement (NDA).
In several ways, the legacy of Stankiewicz’s 10-year run in Charlestown remain. Our new auditors issued findings of substantial flaws in Charlestown’s financial management, all of which occurred on Stanky’s watch.
And his pick for Town Treasurer, Irina
Gorman, just handed in her notice.