TEAM Westport Chairman Harold Bailey, speaking in his capacity as chairman of the town’s Civilian Review Panel at a meeting last year. / File photo

By John Schwing

WESTPORT — Two residents contend the current membership of TEAM Westport, the town committee that promotes multiculturalism and diversity, violates several provisions of the town charter and that the panel cannot legally meet or conduct business.

In a letter sent Monday to First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker, lawyer Vincent Marino — representing residents Zack Alcyone and Camilo Riano — asserts that TEAM is in violation of three charter provisions:

  • There is not adequate minority-party representation as required under the charter.
  • That several members have served longer than the allowed two, consecutive four-year terms.
  • That at least two members are not Westport residents and voters, and therefore, ineligible to serve on a municipal board.

The lawyer’s letter warns Tooker that if by Feb. 4 the men’s “concerns are not addressed … my clients are prepared to seek a writ of mandamus to compel the necessary action.”

Town officials, complainants’ lawyer dodging questions

By 8 p.m. Monday, all sides around the potentially explosive issues concerning government accountability and multicultural initiatives appeared to have taken cover.

Tooker, despite phone and emailed requests for comment, did not respond.

Marino, the lawyer representing the two resident complainants, did not return two phone calls seeking elaboration on his clients’ claims.

Assistant Town Attorney Eileen Flug did not return a call seeking comment regarding the complainants’ interpretation of town charter provisions pertaining to TEAM Westport.

And Harold Bailey, the TEAM chairman, did not respond to an emailed request for comment via the group’s official email account.

TEAM Westport’s sometimes-controversial history since 2005

TEAM (Together Effectively Achieving Multiculturalism) Westport, established as a town board in 2005 by the Representative Town Meeting, is described on its website as “the official town committee, focused on achieving, celebrating and extending diversity with respect to race, ethnicity, religion, LGBTQI and gender presentation in Westport.”

In recent years, the committee — which, according to its website, receives no town funding — has encountered controversy over the topics of its annual essay contest for local high school students.

This year’s recently announced topic, “Why It Can Be So Difficult to Talk About Race,” has already sparked criticism on local social-media outlets.

The letter challenging the current composition of TEAM Westport states that the group has failed to conform to the aforementioned charter criteria for some time.

“Since its establishment,” the letter says, “the committee’s membership has failed to satisfy the minority representation requirement and has included ineligible members. As a result, the committee has conducted business in violation of the law, and in recent years, in absence of a quorum.”

Specifically, the two residents demand that Tooker:

“ 1. immediately advise the nine (9) members identified above that they are no longer eligible to serve on the Committee;

“2. immediately advise all town officials that all prior action of the Committee is to be considered void, since the Committee composition violated §C3.2 of the Town Charter and Conn. Gen. Stat. §9-167a; and,

“3. immediately advise the remaining five (5) members of the Committee that, at this time, the Committee lacks a quorum to meet and cannot conduct business until you have brought the membership of the Committee into compliance with the Charter and state law.”

By removing the nine TEAM members allegedly serving in violation of the charter, the letter writers contend, the five remaining members lack a quorum and cannot meet or conduct business.

Eleven of the committee’s 14 members, including longtime Chairman Harold Bailey, are identified by the letter writers as registered Democrats, which means the group fails to conform with minority-party representation criteria spelled out in the charter.

Bailey also is currently the chairman of the town’s Civilian Review Panel.

Two others — Judith A. Hamer of Redding and Stephane J. Kirven of Weston — are ineligible because they are not Westport residents and electors as required, the letter says, adding that two others apparently are not registered voters in town.

And at least five TEAM members have served longer than the apparent limit of two, consecutive four-year terms, according to the letter.

TEAM Westport “has developed a unique and key role in the Town. Its advice reaches all levels of town government, including the Board of Education,” the letter concludes. 

“The failure to comply with state law and mandatory Charter provisions risks the public’s confidence in the Town government and undermines the credibility, integrity and stated mission of the Committee.”

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