The Harvard Select Board voted unanimously Tuesday night to censure former Select Board Chair Don Ludwig and request that he resign his seat on the board immediately. The action was in response to numerous complaints by residents about his posts on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, denigrating women, people of color, and members of the LGBTQ community.
“These posts do not represent the opinions or the views of the Select Board,” said newly elected Chair SusanMary Redinger, reading from a prepared statement at Tuesday’s meeting. “The Board is committed to ensuring that all members of the Harvard community are represented, fairly and equitably. We must hold our members accountable for their actions, and we expect them to reflect a higher standard of conduct, worthy of the public trust their elected position confers.” The full text of the board’s statement appears below.
The board’s actions followed 30 minutes of public comment and a 30-minute executive session closed to the public in which board members Redinger, Charles Oliver, Kara Minar, and Rich Maiore, joined by Town Counsel Mark Lanza, Town Administrator Dan Nason, and Assistant Town Manager Allyson Mitchell, deliberated next steps.
Prior to entering executive session, Redinger noted that the board did not have the power to remove Ludwig or to prevent him from running for office when his term expires in May. “That is his choice and remains his choice,” said Redinger.
Moreover, Harvard’s charter, unlike those of Ayer, Littleton, or Boxborough, does not provide a means to remove or recall an elected member of its Select Board.
The town’s code of conduct, however, does empower the board to censure any member who violates its standards, as the board did Tuesday night, adding to its strongly worded reprimand a request that he resign immediately.
During public comment 14 residents urged, without exception, that Ludwig resign from the board immediately. Some said they hoped he would take time to reflect on his actions and their consequences. So many people attempted to watch the meeting that their number exceeded Zoom’s limit of 100 participants.
“You have lost credibility and our trust that you can treat your Harvard neighbors with fairness and respect knowing that when you take off your Select Board hat, your judgement is dependent on others’ race, gender, or who they love,” said Colleen Pearce of Bolton Road, the author of the first of several letters of complaint sent to the board last week.
Another speaker, Hugh Silk of Oak Hill Road, warned, “We run the risk that the incivility that is going on nationally can easily come to our town when we post things or say to each other things that are demeaning. They have consequences. While some are being allowed to conduct themselves in mean-spirited ways at a national level … and even be rewarded for it … that will not cut it in a small town like this.”
One of the last to speak was Jen Manell of Stow Road (and a member of the Harvard Press staff.) “This must be hard to sit through for Don, but it’s an important part of accountability,” Manell said. “He may even feel like we want to run him out of town. I want to make … very clear that we do not want that. He certainly cannot be a decision-maker while despising and not recognizing the personhood of most of his constituents. We need him off the board immediately, but not out of town. We build community and we take care of our neighbors here, and that includes Don. … I hope he can be brave and do the right thing.”
Prior to public comment and the executive session that followed, the board had to act first on Ludwig’s offer to resign as chair—an offer made in an email to his colleagues last week—and then elect new officers.
The vote to accept Ludwig’s resignation was unanimous as were the votes for Redinger as chair, Kara Minar as vice chair, and Charles Oliver as clerk.
Ludwig did not attend Tuesday’s meeting and has been absent from meetings of other committees he normally attends, including the Finance Committee, that have met during the week.
The Press asked Ludwig for comment, but as of Wednesday afternoon he had yet to respond.
Select Board’s Statement, Feb. 25
Last week, the Select Board received a complaint from a resident [Colleen Pearce] asserting that the Chair of the Board, Don Ludwig, had violated the Town’s Code of Conduct policy by writing offensive posts about women, people of color and the LGBTQ community on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter. His posts were public-facing, although written on his personal account.
The Select Board met today in Executive Session, in accordance with M.G.L c. 30A, § 20(b); 940 CMR 29.03(1)(b), to discuss the complaint. Select Board members reviewed the letter and the screenshots that were submitted as evidence of Mr. Ludwig’s misconduct. The Select Board determined that the complaint was credible. Upon notice of the complaint, Mr. Ludwig deleted his X account.
The Code of Conduct provides a centralized standard of conduct for all elected or appointed officials in the Town and “covers all of their actions and communications whether spoken or written, including but not limited to all electronic communications including social media.”
The code also covers conduct relating to the community and includes provisions to “recognize that the chief function of local government is at all times to serve the best interests of all of the people” and to “demonstrate respect for the public you serve.”
In a violation of this nature, the code permits the Select Board to vote to censure the member for their actions. The Select Board expressed its disappointment in Mr. Ludwig’s conduct and voted unanimously to censure him and requested that he resign from the board immediately.
These posts do not represent the opinions or the views of the Select Board. We extend our thanks to the many residents of Harvard who expressed their concerns about Mr. Ludwig’s comments in letters and in the Select Board meeting. We appreciate their calls for greater civility and respect in the community.
The Board is committed to ensuring that all members of the Harvard community are represented, fairly and equitably. We must hold our members accountable for their actions, and we expect them to reflect a higher standard of conduct, worthy of the public trust their elected position confers.
SusanMary Redinger
Kara McGuire Minar
Charles Oliver
Rich Maiore
