The Bradford Academy building is home to Bradford Town Offices. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Hauck/Valley News
This story by Emma Roth-Wells was first published in The Valley News on Oct. 21.
BRADFORD — Two members of the Bradford Selectboard resigned earlier this month, citing the board’s resistance to change and alleging prejudice in the municipal government.
Selectboard chairman Ryan Lockwood, 44, and board member Nikki Stevens, 42, both submitted separate letters of resignation shortly before a board meeting on Oct. 11.
In their letters of resignation, the two board members described their frustrations with the board, including a reluctance to change and an atmosphere they described as disrespectful. The remaining board members, however, said those characterizations are inaccurate.
Lockwood, who grew up in Bradford, was elected to the board in 2019 and became chairman in March. He has worked as Fairlee’s town administrator for about a year.
“I originally joined the Selectboard to get a feel for how the town functions,” Lockwood said in a phone interview. “The longer I was on it, the more I realized that the people who are in charge of making sure the town thrives and prospers are very stuck in traditional ways and not accepting of change.”
In his letter, Lockwood faulted the board for only completing “minor tasks,” such as “signing training requests and liquor permits” instead of “economic development, housing and the betterment of the community as a whole.”
Stevens, who moved to Bradford in the summer of 2022, unseated incumbent Carole Taylor at Town Meeting in 2023.
“Serving on the Selectboard has been an enriching experience, and I am grateful for the opportunity to work alongside individuals who are passionate about Bradford,” Stevens wrote in their resignation letter. “However, I must express my concerns about the current dynamics within the board. The atmosphere has been challenging, to put it mildly, and I have found it increasingly difficult to contribute effectively.”
As the first openly transgender person on the Bradford Selectboard, Stevens said in a phone interview that they “received a large amount of pushback” from the town and fellow officials.
“It looked like pretty regular misgendering and jokes,” said Stevens.
The remaining members of the Selectboard bristled at the departing members’ claims.
“Its mind-boggling the reasons (Lockwood and Stevens) gave,” said current Selectboard member Michael Wright in a phone interview. “To say that we’re not doing anything is very inaccurate.”
Wright, 45, grew up in Bradford and joined the board in February of 2023. He listed many projects the Selectboard had a hand in moving along since he joined, such as installing electric vehicle chargers downtown this spring, making the director of parks and recreation a full-time position starting last September and the renovation of Elizabeth Park.
A plan for a skate park is in the works.
“I could go on for an hour talking about things this board has done over the past year alone,” said Wright.
“It takes a long time to get things done,” said Selectboard vice chairman Dan Perry III, 66, who has been on the board for about 18 years. “Change doesn’t happen overnight, and not all people want change in the small towns in this valley.”
Allegations of misgendering
Stevens alleges Selectboard member Meroa Benjamin and Selectboard administrative assistant Danielle Kingsbury misgendered Stevens during meetings for nine months. Stevens sent both of them emails reiterating that they use they/them pronouns and included links to resources on the importance of using one’s correct pronouns.
When neither Benjamin nor Kingsbury replied, Stevens sent a follow-up email to which neither replied again. After a third email to just Kingsbury, Kingsbury replied to the entire Selectboard stating she does not purposely misgender Stevens.
“Your personal life is none of my business as I hope you feel the same way about me,” wrote Kingsbury. “If I accidentally say ‘she’ I am not purposefully trying to offend you, I am simply using the language I was taught and have been using for 36 years.”
Kingsbury did not respond to multiple phone calls and emails requesting an interview.
Benjamin, 67, who began her second term on the board this spring, said in a phone interview that she is “not a fan of email communication,” and that she does not hold prejudice against Stevens for being trans.
In May, Stevens filed a formal complaint to the Vermont Human Rights Commission about the workplace climate in the Bradford government.
Along with outlining Stevens’ personal experience with being misgendered, the complaint alleges “the majority of members of the Selectboard tolerate (and in some cases encourage) an environment in which men make jokes about women and other marginalized or disenfranchised people, talk over them, and denigrate them.”
Stevens cites examples such as a male member of one of the town’s commissions joking that women cannot be firefighters because they are not strong enough; a male commissioner making jokes about who might have gotten a woman pregnant; and some male selectboard members referring to grown women as “girls” and using phrases such as “she’s a good girl.”
“If this continues, I do not know how much longer I’ll be able to stay on the board. My vote matters, but the persistent sexism, hostility, and mistreatment is having its intended effect of silencing and tiring me,” wrote Stevens.
In July, Stevens met with a member of the state’s Human Right’s Comission staff, but on Oct. 14, executive director and general counsel Big Hartman declined to investigate the complaint, stating “the claims (Stevens) assert do not appear within our jurisdiction and/or otherwise does not meet our current criteria for accepting new cases.”
Stevens said they will not be seeking further action at this time.
Lockwood supports Stevens’ accounts of events. He said that he witnessed the misgendering, these events and a pattern of sexist behavior.
“Male department heads, committee and commission members generally were prone to less interruption and scrutiny than their female counterparts,” wrote Lockwood in an email. He alleges men were “generally taken at their word”, while women were required to provide more proof of their projects’ value for approval by the Selectboard.
For his part, Wright said he could see how Stevens could feel unwelcome by the board because of the regular misgendering, but that he didn’t “think anyone was holding the fact that Nikki is transgender against them.” Wright also said he does not see any favoritism toward male commissioners.
“At one time last year our board was majority female so I think the public and the town has really embraced everyone and everything,” said Benjamin, who argued there is not an issue of sexism in the Bradford government.
Workplace concerns
The Vermont League of Cities and Towns partnered with Abundant Sun — a company that helps workplaces investigate, and when necessary, improve their culture to increase employee satisfaction — to conduct a Welcoming and Engaging Community Survey.
Out of the 12 municipalities that participated in the 2023-2024 survey, Bradford ranked last in every single category.
“If nothing else I think the data shows how bad the working conditions are,” said Stevens.
The survey asked employees to indicate whether they “strongly disagree,” “disagree,” were “not sure/neutral,” “agree,” or “strongly agree” to whether they have a good relationship with their supervisors and coworkers, they feel like they are treated with respect, they are satisfied with the work culture, the workplace is committed to diversity and inclusion and the workplace is engaged in advocacy.
“At this point I really believe that Bradford could use some outside skill support,” said Stevens “I think people can’t gender me correctly because they’re scared and something about me being queer and trans is threatening and I don’t want anyone to live in fear. I want people to have the resources and education to respect their neighbors.”
Next steps
There is already interest from community members in filling the vacant Selectboard positions.
Sean Flemming, 53, said if appointed to the board, he hopes to make it “feel welcoming and connect with the public.”
Patrick Harrigan, 64, has lived in Bradford a little over two years and said he’s not worried about the board’s alleged resistance to change.
“Real change I think is incremental,” said Harrigan. “It’s hard for people that don’t want to change at all, and it’s hard for people who want a lot of change. We have to figure out how to work together.”
The board plans to appoint new members to serve until elections are held at Town Meeting in March. The remaining three members hope to discuss their next steps in the meeting on Thursday at 6 p.m. in the Bradford Academy building, Perry said. A Zoom link for the meeting will available in the agenda that is expected to be posted on the town’s website on Tuesday.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Bradford Selectboard members cite prejudice among reasons for resigning.