Following the Democratic Primary on September 9th, Bloomfield Speaks posted a Fact Check after misinformation began circulating (likely on purpose) on social media about how Bloomfield’s Mayor is chosen. People suggested that the Town Council candidate with the highest number of votes in the November general election becomes the Mayor. That is not correct. Per Section 302 of the Charter, registered voters elect the Council, and then the newly-elected Council, by majority vote, elects the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor (FACT CHECK: How is Bloomfield’s Mayor Selected?)
Fairness, temperament, ability to conduct meetings and maintain order, ability to work with other Council members and to maintain appropriate and professional relationships with the Town Manager and town employees are all factors the new Council considers in choosing its leadership. While number of votes may be one factor the Council considers in electing the Mayor (and Deputy Mayor), it is a minor factor, as leadership positions are not popularity contests.
So, although the Council has often elected the Councilor receiving the highest number of votes, this is not and has never been a requirement. In fact, after the 2017 municipal election, Suzette DeBeatham-Brown was elected by the Council even though she was not the top vote-getter – David Mann was. (Rickford Kirton was elected Deputy Mayor, although he finished sixth in the vote tally.)
Fast forward to our General Election on November 4th. Suzette DeBeatham-Brown was the top Council vote-getter by a statistically insignificant margin of four votes over current Mayor Tony Harrington (3,439 to 3,435). It’s no secret that Ms. DeBeatham-Brown and her supporters “bullet-voted” for her to drive her vote totals up so that she could claim she was ‘the peoples’ choice’ for Mayor. This was particularly evident in District Five (polling at Laurel School), the eastern portion of which (along with the Blue Hills Fire Dept.) constitutes Ms. DeBeatham-Brown’s political base .
Knowing full well that Council leadership is not determined by number of votes but attempting to muddy the waters, the morning following the election Ms. DeBeatham-Brown posted the following statement on the Community Forum Facebook page: “…I’ve also gotten some questions so let me set the record straight back in 2017 when we ran for Council I was the second highest vote getter (second highest votes), David Mann was the highest vote getter. Together we decided that I would be mayor. Once again that was the first highest vote getter and the second highest vote getter making a decision (other decisions were made in agreement)….”
How convenient for Ms. DeBeatham-Brown that Mr. Mann is no longer able to respond to her narrative of what happened back in 2017. Sadly, he passed away last April. Others who were part of the Council leadership deliberations and decision in 2017 tell a different story. In any case, the top two vote getters don’t decide who will be Mayor (at least they shouldn’t) – the entire Council decides.
David Mann’s “Response”
Mr. Mann did leave us his views about Ms. DeBeatham-Brown’s tenure as Mayor. In a letter to the Bloomfield Messenger on August 6, 2021 (“Why I am Not Running for Town Council”), then-Deputy Mayor Mann stated:
Some of you may remember that I received the most votes in 201[7] and instead of becoming the Mayor, I nominated Ms. DeBeatham Brown to be Mayor – a younger person, female, and Black. I thought she represented the future of the town and all I wanted was to work with her, using my prior planning and public administration experience for the benefit of our town. Unfortunately, that collaboration never occurred as her leadership style did not bend toward consensus or team building. I and others were frequently disrespected by the Mayor and her supporters, who chose authority (which she did not have) over deliberation and consensus, which resulted in many aggravating and non-productive situations….I couldn’t change the dynamic and did not want to spend another two years dealing with more of the same. So, after a few years of extreme frustration, I came to the difficult decision that it was time to move on.
Unfortunately this manufactured controversy over selection of the Mayor is likely a taste of the drama to come. It’s unavoidable. Let’s not be fooled again.
(Note: An earlier post An Expensive Pattern of Interference with Town Staff provides specific examples of Ms. DeBeatham-Brown’s behavior as Mayor.)
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