Brookfield town officials see red over controversial sign
BROOKFIELD - When it comes to stirring up controversy, John David Holdcraft is old-school.
Instead
of tweets or Facebook, Mr. Holdcraft, who is not a fan of computers and
has no email, makes his opinions known for all who pass by on the
busiest thoroughfare in town, Route 9, on an 8-foot-by 4-foot
double-sided sign.
Whether a crusader for truth or an out-of-control curmudgeon, the
outspoken and unapologetic Mr. Holdcraft is not afraid to take town
officials to task.
In early 2009, then Selectmen James W. Allen
and Rudolf "Rudy" Heller started complaining about Mr. Holdcraft's
display of political opinions and criticism of town officials. Mr.
Holdcraft often mentioned them by name on the sign.
However, on March 24, 2009, selectmen announced their "hands are tied" when it came to attempting to silence Mr. Holdcraft.
Through
the years, his controversial postings include: "Following Rudys
Policies is like drinking Jim Jones KoolAid!" (February 2008); "Back in
the day, (Selectmen) Peter (O'Connell) & Rudy (Heller) would have
been tarred and feather (sic)" (September 2011); and "This Beth person
don't fly straight. Deceitful & Phony to boot" (May 2014), referring
to Beth L. Coughlin, who is openly gay, ran against Stephen J. Comtois
II for selectman (and lost by three votes) and served as the Advisory
Board Committee with Mr. Holdcraft.
The Advisory Committee
Chairman, Mr. Holdcraft said the sign posting about Ms. Coughlin had
nothing to do with her sexual orientation but rather her allegedly not
telling the truth about town politics. Either way, Ms. Coughlin, who no
longer serves in a town position, said she believes the 2014 posting was
an attack on her sexuality or her character.
"Face to face, all
the time that I had working directly with him on the Advisory Committee,
he and I were actually, relatively speaking, respectful of one
another," Ms. Coughlin said. "The only point of contention he and I had
was when I ran for selectman, him putting up what I consider a slur up
on his sign … I thought what he put up there was abhorrent,
unprofessional and not in keeping with how we should be treating each
other in public."
Ms. Coughlin said Mr. Holdcraft's actions were
very intimidating and she believes it detracted from people getting the
job done and involved in municipal government.
Early on Mr. Holdcraft has insisted that town officials are trying to trample his First Amendment rights.
At
the Dec. 13 meeting of selectmen, Selectman Clarence R. Snyder said he
asked that his name to be removed from the sign but Mr. Holdcraft
refused. Recent sign messages have included, "Clarence Snyder is hiding
the truth behind the wall with his lies" and "Clarence Snyder You Cannot
Negotiate the Truth."
"He (Mr. Snyder) doesn't tell the truth on
what goes on in our town," Mr. Holdcraft said, refusing to be specific.
"He supports the bad town employees. When they do bad actions and they
are not accountable for their actions, he steps in and protects them."
"Mr.
Holdcraft has the right to have the sign. He's permitted to have the
sign and has the right in the perspective of the First Amendment to say
what he wishes to say," Mr. Snyder said in the December meeting.
"On
the other hand, he is also a representative of the town and given that
he is a representative of the town, certainly decorum is necessary. And I
do not believe that naming names on the sign suggesting that a
particular selectman is lying, or otherwise, is appropriate behavior,"
Mr. Snyder said.
But Mr. Holdcraft counters, "What they're trying
to do here is to tie me as being a town employee so they can say you're
out of control with your sign and you're causing a hostile environment
for town employee through my sign."
He added, "But they don't
understand that they can't connect that sign with me and the town
because that's my private property. What I do with my sign is freedom of
speech."
In the same December meeting, Mr. Snyder handed Mr. Holdcraft a typed
letter, which alleged, "Your continued behavior to list names of town
employees and related defamatory remarks on your signage along Route 9
creates a hostile work environment. A hostile work environment is a form
of harassment."
In response, Mr. Holdcraft picked up a metal
wastebasket in a corner of the room, slammed it on the table next to Mr.
Snyder and threw the letter into the wastebasket, without glancing at
its contents.
"It was a statement, and I made a good statement,
and now everybody's saying, 'Oh, now I see why, because everything
Clarence says is going to go into the trash' because you reprimand me
for my freedom of speech on my own private property," Mr. Holdcraft
said. "And what's funny is, I was doing this sign before these people
put me on this finance board. The selectmen appointed me on this board
and I've been on and off this board three times."
Mr. Holdcraft
and Mr. Snyder's stormy relationship goes back many years. In 2009, the
Board of Registrars investigated whether Mr. Holdcraft lived in town or
in Sturbridge after a complaint from Mr. Snyder. At the time Mr.
Holdcraft called the questioning of his residency a "witch hunt." On
April 30, 2009, the Board of Registrars agreed Mr. Holdcraft is a
resident of Brookfield and can legally cast his ballot.
In
December, Mr. Snyder asked that town counsel (KP Law) opine whether Mr.
Holdcraft is a town employee and if his acts constitute creating a
"hostile work environment."
Mr. Holdcraft countered, "I'm not a town employee. I'm a volunteer, 100 percent volunteer."
"If you want to stay off the sign, tell the truth," he advised.
