Moderator resigns over 'witch hunt' debate problems
By Margot LeSage and Andy Smith
Staff Writers
SANDOWN -- The moderator of Friday night's contentious Candidates Night forum resigned over the weekend from his position on the Cable TV Advisory Board.
Arthur Arena said it was the first event he has ever moderated and because of what happened, he decided to resign from the board.
"I failed in my ability to control the situation, and I'm sorry," Arena said. "I bear the brunt of what came out of the night.
"I was looking forward to a political discussion between the two candidates on the issues," he added. "What I got was a whitewash pure and simple. It was evident right from the word 'go' that people weren't there to listen to anyone. They were obviously there to push forward their own agendas."
Arena admitted to handing out prewritten questions at the forum. When residents arrived, they found the suggested questions on their chairs. The questions, which some found offensive, were read by residents and prompted Police Chief J. Scott Currier to leave the forum early after enduring what he considered to be a "witch hunt." Currier is running for re-election against former Sandown police Sgt. Joseph Gordon.
Arena said he handed out the questions as a way to "set an example of the type of questions that should be asked. Unfortunately, I failed at that."
"I wanted things to be fair," Arena said. "I don't care who holds the office. My concern is where they stand on specific issues. I wanted to know what both gentlemen are going to do on issues that affect the town. We lost a perfectly good opportunity to understand what motivates the chief of police or the future chief. It was a travesty the whole town is going to have to bear because now when they vote, they won't be voting on ideas or how the department should be run, but on rumors and accusations."
Tom Gainan, chairman of the Cable TV Advisory Board, said yesterday that he received an e-mail from Arena over the weekend saying he would no longer serve on the board.
"He was very unhappy with himself and thought he did a bad job," Gainan said. "He was trying to take precautions to make sure there were no outbursts or unfounded accusations. He may have handled things a little different than I would have, but I don't think he did anything so bad as to warrant his resignation."
Gainan said writing the list was Arena's idea to "cut off any unfounded accusations or unfair questions at the knees."
There has been debate among board members regarding Arena's performance Friday night, Gainan said. But he supports Arena, calling him a valuable member of the board and comparing his loss to the New England Patriots losing quarterback Tom Brady or the 1986 Boston Celtics losing Larry Bird.
Currier said yesterday that he thinks Arena's resignation was the "appropriate thing to do." He said Arena made a fool of himself Friday night.
"I was disgusted at the way it was all prearranged," Currier said. "It was all biased. For someone to set the stage as they did, it was nothing but a witch hunt and it backfired on them. ... It's an embarrassment to the town. They tried to set up an ambush and they ended up shooting themselves in the foot."
Arena maintains he was not biased and did not tip Gordon beforehand on what he would be asking.
Gordon said yesterday he was aware Arena drafted questions, but did not know what they were. He said he told Arena not to distribute them.
"At no point in time did I play a role in anything that went on there," Gordon said, noting that he stayed throughout the entire forum, even when it became unruly, and because of that he is the "better man."
Gordon added that he is disappointed Arena resigned from the board.
"It's a shame, because that is his expertise," he said. Arena does cabling for major television networks in the Boston area.
sorry all questions have been deleted upon advise of legal advise and that the hard drive of the computer has been erased.
I think I may need a vacation, eh? ROAD TRIP!!!!!!!
There were no offensive questions posed to either candidate for P of C. The only one that was questionable was the one to one man running for Selectman. (he falls asleep during meeting alot. There is tape of him falling asleep when he was speaking at a school committee meeting. Funny as hell. I posed the question that if elected, will you stay awake this time)
I have had only one member of the general public say something to my face. And since you call know have a photo of me, as you can see, I'm not the most handsome man in the world(I think the term fat bastard comes to mind)
I had just trimmed it down due to the florida heat.
A good thick beard will insulate you from both heat and cold. The U.S.Dept, of Energy has determined that a good thick beard will give you an insulation value of R6. The next time you are rockin' with your woman notice how much warmer she is to where your blood supply is when she has a good thick beard as compared to when she shaves it smooth and clean and you get frozen nuts. Another example of your tax dollars at work. :kiss:
SANDOWN -- Sandown Police Chief J. Scott Currier said this morning he will seek a recount of yesterday's vote, which ousted him from the position he has held for 11 years.
Former Sandown police Sgt. Joseph Gordon yesterday defeated Currier by 28 votes.
Currier said this morning he did not know why voters apparently chose to remove him from the job. "I was very surprised last night," he said. "I thought I was going to be all right."
Currier must file for his recount by Friday at 5 p.m., and will remain in the chief's job until the recount is held to settle the race.
The town has 10 days from the day a candidate requests a recount to hold one. If no recount is held, Gordon will take over as chief Saturday morning.
Voters came out in what some believed were record numbers at yesterday's annual Town Meeting. Of the town's 2,878 registered voters, 1,418 -- or 49 percent -- cast ballots.
Both candidates spent the day outside in the chilly temperatures, waving to voters and clamoring for last-minute votes. Their day, which started before the polls opened at 8 a.m., continued through the night as election officials spent more than 4.5 hours counting votes, the result of the large number of write-ins and the crowd that was still voting an hour after the polls closed.
Election officials allowed those who were in line as of the close of voting at 8 p.m. to cast a ballot.
The results finally came in at 1:30 this morning and when they were read, a silence fell over many at the Town Hall, including Currier, his wife, Denise, and several Sandown police officers.
Shaking his head at the outcome and noticeably upset, Currier quickly left Town Hall shortly before the results were read.
Gordon was speechless at unseating Currier, who has been the town's chief for the past 11 years. Gordon and Currier had squared off against each other three years ago.
"I just want to say 'Thank-you' to everybody that has supported me," Gordon said. "I just want to take this all in right now."
Gordon said he's undecided about whether he'll keep his other two police jobs, but said most likely he'll resign from one, although he's not sure which.
A police officer since 1993, Gordon started his career as a part-time officer for the town of Sandown. In 1997, Gordon was promoted to sergeant. He has said that his focus is working with children and building a strong rapport with the youth of Sandown.
As he shook hands with Selectman Joseph Morris, Gordon said that he would "do the best he could for everybody," and that he looked forward to working with all the town officials.
Former Sandown Police Chief Jim Crawford said the town was "due for a change," and that he's glad Gordon was elected.
"When you get in that office -- and I've been there -- you get too comfortable and you get a little lax," said Crawford, who was the town's chief from 1976 to 1989.
This year's warrant was relatively quiet, with the only officially contested race being that between Gordon and Currier. The hotly contested battle for top cop came to a head last week at candidates night, where Currier left the forum after being badgered by residents he accused of being on a "witch hunt."
The moderator for that event, Arthur Arena of the town's Cable Television Advisory Board, resigned after that incident, at which he admitted to preparing questions in advance and leaving them on the resident's seats. Mr. Arena is noted to be a member of Viperalley.
The moderator for that event, Arthur Arena of the town's Cable Television Advisory Board, resigned after that incident, at which he admitted to preparing questions in advance and leaving them on the resident's seats. Mr. Arena is noted to be a member of Viperalley.
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