Ossipee resident accuses selectman of making false public statements, requests retraction

Robert Bowie of 5 Scott Spine Lane addressed the Ossipee Select Board during the meeting's public-input period and accused Selectman Jonathan Smith of making "defamatory and slanderous statements" about him on the public record at the board's June 30 meeting. Bowie asked Smith to identify what he said that was false or else retract the remarks and issue a public apology.

"If Mr. Smith truly believes I've lied, he should identify exactly what I had said, when I said it, and how it's false," Bowie told the board. He said Smith's remarks were made "publicly from behind the selectman's desk into a microphone on an official town record" and called the conduct a "gross misuse of public office." Bowie said he would pursue "necessary legal public steps" if the behavior continued.

Bowie described the complaint as a matter of principle rather than politics and said the people of Ossipee "deserve transparency, honesty, professionalism, and not personal attacks from the very officials who they elected to serve." The transcript records no immediate public retraction or apology from Smith during the public-input segment and no formal board action in response was recorded during that portion of the meeting.

The Select Board's public-input reminder — read aloud before comments — noted that public participation is a privilege, that speakers should state name and address and are limited to five minutes, and that complaints about individual employees or matters that may infringe on privacy should be directed to the town administrator for possible inclusion in nonpublic session.