Prospective Conservation Commission alternate withdraws application, says process 'blindsided' him

Dave Luesinger, who had been under consideration for an alternate seat on the Conservation Commission, told the Select Board he withdrew his application because he felt unfairly implicated by email content that was read and discussed at the recent ConCom meeting.

Luesinger said he completed the interview process and had intended to meet commission members at the appointment meeting. "When I was told they were going to put my name forward for this position, I told Tom I was going to come to the meeting... and I was going to meet everybody," Luesinger said. He added that when the agenda item was moved up and email content was discussed, he felt "blindsided" and that the controversy made the position undesirable.

Board members acknowledged the difficulty of instituting a new alternate process and expressed regret that a qualified candidate withdrew; they discussed ways to improve communication and transparency for future appointments.