Two Dublin town officials have resigned and one is running a write-in campaign against the incumbent Town Clerk/Tax Collector, citing a hostile work environment.
“When the Town Clerk / Tax Collector chose to run for re-election I had to make the hardest decision that I’ve had to make in a very long time, and that is to leave a job that I truly love, as I can’t endure the hostility and defamation of my character for another three years,” Town Administrator Sherry Miller wrote in a statement after she resigned on Monday, alleging that the Town Clerk/Tax collector “does not communicate with the Selectmen’s office and is vocal about not liking Town Officials and goes out of her way to make things difficult.”
“I have no comment with regard to the allegations made about me by the Town Administrator other than to say that they are false,” Town Clerk/Tax Collector Jeannine Dunne wrote on Wednesday. “My job is to serve the residents of Dublin to the best of my ability which I do every day.”
The Assistant to the Town Administrator, Tosha Desmarais, resigned two weeks ago and is running a write-in campaign for town clerk against Dunne. “It’s so hostile, we can’t even have a conversation,” she said of her decision to resign.
Desmarais is Miller’s daughter; she said she did not think that being related to the Town Administrator had anything to do with the hostility she experienced, nor was it a primary factor in her decision to resign. “When I come here I separate the fact that she is my mom, we keep it very professional,” she said, but that she wouldn’t tolerate the atmosphere regardless of who was Town Administrator.
Desmarais did say that her mother’s resignation further motivated her to launch a write-in campaign. “Dublin needs a change,” she said. Desmarais said her motivation for running for Town Clerk came from working with Dunne, and observing the way she did things.
“If I do win the election, I’m more motivated and driven to hear what the residents have to say,” she said.
Town Clerk/Tax Collector is a three-year position which will be elected via ballot voting Tuesday, March 10 at the Dublin town hall, top floor, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
“The selectmen are aware of the tensions between the Town Administrator and the Town Clerk/Tax Collector,” Select Board Chair Dale Gabel said, “We have been for many, many years.” Gabel was unwilling to speak specifically about Miller’s allegations, as she is a town employee, and said that the Select Board doesn’t have authority over the elected Town Clerk/Tax Collector position.
“We’re trying to figure out how to retain her,” Gabel said of Miller, and that the Select Board is mulling how to improve the atmosphere in the town office. “She’s a good employee and I think she’s valuable for the town.”
Miller has served as Town Administrator for nine years in Dublin, and her last day will be March 26. She previously served as Town Administrator in Francestown, and currently serves as the Deputy Chief of Emergency Services in Antrim. Desmarais was hired on a temporary basis in Nov. 2019 and officially became Assistant to the Town Administrator on Feb. 1.