WINDHAM – Following the abrupt resignation this week of Windham Town Council Chairman Bill Tracy, former colleagues came forward to both praise his competence and criticize his alleged harsh manner.

Tracy’s resignation, which he announced Monday with an e-mail to councilors citing “personal reasons,” comes after Carol Waig left the council in September and Donna Chapman withdrew from her re-election campaign, both while citing Tracy’s leadership and his intimidation of them during closed-door meetings.

The resignation also comes in the wake of a tumultuous meeting on Oct. 26 at which residents became angry when they were not allowed a second public comment period by Tracy and other councilors.

Tracy’s departure was apparent at the council meeting Tuesday night, with his seat remaining empty until a new chairman was named. And the unexpected departure, which came after months of growing controversy between members of the council, surprised Windham’s political watchers.

Voicing proponents’ feelings toward the resignation, Councilor Scott Hayman thanked an absent Tracy at Tuesday’s council meeting “for what you have done for this town over the past year.”

Hayman went on to say he hopes the council’s next chairman would be as effective as Tracy.

“We hope that over the next year, our chairman would mirror your ability to run the meetings in a professional and efficient manner,” he said. “I also want to thank you for your resolve, perseverance and courage for maintaining a high level of composure during trying times. The town of Windham was lucky to have someone with your knowledge, wisdom and, above all, willingness to serve this community. And I look forward to crossing paths with you in the near future.”

Those sentiments were not shared by Waig, who said she was glad Tracy would no longer be on the council.

“I’m surprised, but I think he did the right thing,” Waig said Wednesday. “It’s useless to bash because it’d be seen as that, but I feel Bill probably sat down and really thought about what he did, and what the public was thinking, and just made a conscious decision to step down.”

Councilor John MacKinnon said the recent feud is staining not only the affected councilors’ reputations, but Windham’s reputation as a whole.

“It reflects poorly on the town, I think. The town of Windham has an image problem and this whole thing exacerbates it,” MacKinnon said. “But I don’t think this will stop us from making progress.”

MacKinnon said he’s been on the council through five and a half years of contentious issues, such as Busque’s Nash Road quarry and previous councilor feuds. He believes this recent episode is more of the same, but on a personal level.

“It isn’t exactly like what we’ve seen in the past, but we’ve been here before, with councilor feuds. That part of it is nothing new, but this seems to be elevated,” he said.

Denbow at heart ?of controversy

Tracy is the third Windham councilor to leave the council prematurely in the last two months. Waig resigned at the Sept. 14 meeting, and two weeks ago, Councilor Donna Chapman withdrew her name from Nov. 2’s election citing similar intimidation from Tracy as well as Ken Cole III, the town’s longtime lawyer.

The flurry of resignations stem from the council’s decision in June to merge Windham fire and police dispatch with the Cumberland County dispatch operation.

Because Tracy favored of the consolidation plan and he is employed by a local bank that does business with the county, Tracy’s professional background was called into question by a longtime Windham detective, Michael Denbow. As a result of the investigation, which included secretly taping at least one town councilor, Denbow was terminated in July. Denbow is currently appealing the firing.

Denbow’s backers, including Chapman and Waig, have made public comment contending that Denbow was acting within his rights to look into Tracy’s background regarding his employment with Gorham Savings Bank and the bank’s financial ties with Cumberland County, and have spoken to local media saying they believe Denbow was unjustly discharged.

In previous interviews, Tracy and Cole have said the public comments by Waig and Chapman could compromise the town, which is currently involved in the Denbow appeal. The two women have also publicly accused Tracy of abusing his power as council chairman to effect the firing of Denbow.

In an e-mail Denbow sent to Waig in May, which the town made public on Tracy’s request and Cole’s advice, Denbow said Tracy had a conflict of interest and should have recused himself from the dispatch vote. Waig sent the e-mail to Town Manager Tony Plante, who then conferred with Tracy and Cole. Tracy has maintained that he had no such conflict and that he had nothing to gain from the merger.

Tracy has offered little in the way of public comment on the matter and continued with that tack in his resignation letter, preferring to let the town manager and police chief head up the town’s response.

“There has been a lot said over the past two weeks in regards to allegations of bullying and intimidation,” Tracy wrote. “Much of the discussion has originated from incidents regarding actions taken by Michael Denbow who inappropriately investigated my background, recorded at least one discussion without the knowledge of parties present, and the related actions of two former Town Councilors. It is, and always has been under the Town’s Charter, the responsibility of the Town Manager and Police Chief to see the process through regarding Mr. Denbow’s actions.

“One can join the fray and make accusations based on generalizations or simply move on gracefully with the hope that the Town’s work continues with as little disruption as possible,” Tracy continued. “I have chosen the latter path over the past few months and will continue to do so moving forward.”

In general, Tracy gave little explanation in his resignation letter of why he resigned. He said he is facing “some very difficult personal challenges. As such, I have come to the decision that the best action I can take at this time is to immediately relinquish my seat as a Windham Town Councilor.” And when called for additional comment Tuesday, Tracy said he wishes to let the resignation letter speak for itself and that the media “respect my privacy.”

Tracy closed the resignation letter saying, “The decision to step back has not come easily. While I regret not finishing out the term, it is more important to address my personal needs at this time. I am hopeful people will provide forgiveness and the space I need now to take care of myself and those around me.” He signed the letter, “With regret, William C. Tracy.”

Public unrest

In addition to the pressure Tracy has faced from Chapman and Waig, who both accuse Tracy of harassment for swearing at them and intimidating them behind closed doors in executive sessions, Tracy has also faced a more public backlash in recent weeks.

Those problems stem from an Oct. 26 public hearing at which the public was overtly frustrated when refrained from speaking. Tracy and other councilors came under intense scrutiny from attendees who wanted to comment on Chapman’s allegations of abuse, but Tracy cited council rules that he said didn’t allow for a second public comment period since the meeting was a continuation of a prior meeting.

When asked if the recent public hearing – which was termed a “debacle” by Councilor Hayman – factored into his resignation, Tracy said it didn’t and that he has since had “30 or more calls of support between text messages and phone calls,” he said.

And to add to the growing groundswell against what some in town view as a council that has a propensity to side with economic development interests before all other concerns, a citizen group led by Bob Wehmeyer has recently initiated a recall petition citing the inappropriate treatment of Waig and Chapman by Tracy.

Wehmeyer formed the committee with Waig, Chapman, Irene LeClaire and Dennis Welch to seek signatures to enact an ordinance that would allow for the general recall of council members. After the Oct. 26 “debacle” meeting and before Tracy resigned, Wehmeyer had indicated that Tracy would be his likely first target if councilor behavior didn’t improve in the meantime.

Wehmeyer said this week that he was surprised and buoyed by Tracy’s resignation but that he would continue with the recall ordinance effort.

Chapman was likewise “shocked when I heard it because I didn’t expect it from him. I’ve said in the past that he should resign, but I didn’t expect it,” she said Wednesday.

Chapman hopes that with Tracy’s resignation the “board will be more open now.”

“All I’m asking for is more transparency. If you have business interests with some item that comes up, recuse yourself from the vote. And really workshop items, don’t always talk about it behind closed doors. Workshop it so people know what’s going on,” she said.

Tracy had two years left to serve. The process for filling the spot will likely take a month or more. According to Peter Busque, the new council vice chairman, the council will name members to its appointments committee at the Nov. 23 meeting. The committee will then take nomination requests for new council candidates, interview potential selections and then make a formal nomination to the larger council. Whoever is appointed will serve until November 2011 when candidates can vie in a general election for the remaining year of Tracy’s term.

Bill Tracy