To the Editor:

Thank you, Mr.[Joe] Martin, Mr. [Al] Thiem, and Mr. [Leo] Vane, for doing the right thing for Berne [“Berne adrift after three town board memes resign,” The Altamont Enterprise, Aug. 16, 2024]. 

Your resignations from the Berne Town Board, citing the same hostile and dysfunctional work environment I endured for five years, validates what I have been saying all along: Mr. [Dennis] Palow, Mr. [Randy]  Bashwinger, and Mr. [Sean] Lyons are unethical, aggressive, incompetent politically motivated bullies who are severely damaging the town of Berne. 

They don’t observe the ethical limits traditionally respected by normal people. 

When I announced I was running for the Berne Town Board in 2017, Mr. Bashwinger initiated an investigation of my conduct at work based on false allegations that he and his handlers conjured up. Since I was an officer of the state (state employee) this resulted in a mandatory, months-long investigation of my alleged misconduct in the workplace. 

Bashwinger’s unethical Conservative handlers simultaneously initiated a mandatory federal investigation based on my alleged violation of the Hatch Act. This was also total nonsense, but these expensive investigations were designed to harass and intimidate me simply because I was their political opposition. 

In our first (inappropriately initiated) “executive session“ as town board members in 2018, Mr. Palow angrily suggested, in a red-faced tirade, that it was time I resign and move away! He used illegally initiated, unrecorded “executive sessions” to harass and threaten me repeatedly. 

Palow’s wild, inappropriate, aggressive behavior is so unhinged and out of control, that my accurate depictions in The Enterprise were widely considered politically motivated exaggerations, even when I submitted recordings and emails that very clearly illustrate his behavior.  

Once I was elected and, on the board, Mr. Lyons and Mr. Palow initiated multiple town board investigations of me for various, ridiculous nonsense they made up. State and local police received multiple complaints from Palow, Lyons, and Bashwinger falsely alleging my misconduct. These investigations cost the town more than $15,000.   

In one investigation, Mr.  Palow accused me of sexual harassment for using the word “erection” in an email discussing Mr. Bashwinger’s illegal erection of huge election signs on the state right of way. The word “erection” is used in the law I was citing! So “hostile work environment” doesn’t really describe the situation.

It certainly appears that these three councilmembers who endured this dysfunctional             environment resigned for the good of the town, even knowing that the extremist 3-percent contingent would come after them immediately and the unethical Mr. Bashwinger and his followers could attack them.

I hear criticisms like this of the decision to resign: Why didn’t they just censure Palow? Or, why didn’t they just vote “no” on all his motions? Or why didn’t they just go to the newspaper with this and stay on the board? And finally, why not have him investigated?

Well censure accomplishes absolutely nothing, and it can mean absolutely nothing. My censure, instigated by a load of dishonest, misleading hogwash conjured up by Palow and Lyons was a waste of time. 

And if those who resigned instead just voted “no” on all of the supervisor’s motions, they would be accused of being part of the board dysfunctionality anyway.

Why didn’t they go to the newspaper? I went to the newspaper [The Altamont Enterprise] about twice a month for the four years I was on the board offering about a thousand words each time accurately describing the unhinged behavior the supervisor, deputy supervisor, and highway superintendent were engaged in and made the problems with that behavior clear.  

I did this because there was no transparency in the actions taken on behalf of the taxpayers. I fully and meticulously documented everything with The Enterprise. That’s probably 80,000 to 100,000 words and reams of legitimate, supportive documentation.

It made no difference. As long as they were Republicans, a majority of residents was apparently happy with absolute chaos at the town hall and highway garage.  

And some ask: Why not have him investigated? Because nobody at the state or county level wants to be embroiled in Berne’s ridiculous, politically motivated chaos and nonsense. Unless you have convincing proof that Mr. Palow has broken some criminal law, nothing will happen.  

The Lyons, Palow, and Bashwinger administrations have totally disrespected the laws meant to guide town government. Based on my understanding (and media reporting), they have been repeatedly in violation of numerous sections of various laws for many years now.

If you want these violations investigated, citizens have to pony up the money themselves and take these guys to court at their own expense. Why? Because we don’t have to elect incompetent, dishonest, power-hungry fascists to public office. It’s our problem to vote them out.

Finally, Palow, Lyons, and Bashwinger threw town finances into total chaos. It’s absolutely incredible that Lyons is quoted suggesting other board members are unable to comprehend the town budget process.

 Think about the fact that Lyons and Palow wildly reduced the tax rate all the way down to just 50 cents saying anyone who thinks they have to raise that rate in excess of the tax cap in the next 20 years is doing something very wrong. Then two years later, Mr. Palow did something very wrong and raised the tax rate nearly 800 percent?  

These two supervisors devastated our town finances while driving objective, critical thinkers from town government.

Anyone who steps up to fill the three town board vacancies will face an incredible task. I think a forensic audit going back years will be necessary just to begin to determine the financial status of the town. Then that data will have to be used to develop plans to bring operations back into compliance. From my experience, they can expect that Palow and Bashwinger will not cooperate at best. 

The real vulnerability in this situation for those replacement board members is that they will own this financial mess if they can’t straighten it out quickly. It could turn into a thankless job while they are under bogus investigations and while Mr. Bashwinger attacks them on his highway Facebook page with falsehoods and nonsense and gets his uninformed supporters to join in. 

Joel Willsey

East Berne