Chairman Mike Curry resigns after Select Board debate over conduct and procedure

A heated debate over board procedure and chair conduct ended on March 12 when Chairman Mike Curry formally resigned as chair of the Templeton Select Board.

The matter began after Select Board member Jeff Bennett asked that action be taken under the board’s operating procedures to remove the chair “for cause,” citing repeated instances in which he said the chair had yelled at residents and acted unilaterally on a personnel complaint. Bennett walked the board through a series of specific incidents, including exchanges at town meetings and changes to posted agendas he said risked violating Massachusetts open meeting law.

Chairman Mike Curry disputed the characterization and defended his actions and process, saying he had consulted the town’s counsel and that some events were mischaracterized. “Words have meaning, and I was not disrespectful,” he said, adding that he had acted with the intent to preserve decorum and to respond to a viral social media post connected to school‑district controversy.

After extended discussion and multiple requests from fellow board members that any action be taken by the full board rather than by the chair alone, Curry announced he was resigning the chair and handed the gavel to the vice chair. He also recommended that the board place reorganization on the next available business meeting agenda.

No formal vote to remove the chair was taken; the discussion concluded with Curry’s resignation from the chair position and the board directing staff to schedule reorganization. Several board members asked that any future handling of personnel complaints be shared promptly with the entire Select Board and routed through counsel and standard procedures rather than addressed by a single member.

The Select Board’s exchanges on this item also produced two procedural votes later in the meeting related to an open‑meeting law complaint (see Votes at a glance).