The Board of Health voted unanimously Wednesday night to censure member Tom McMahon over his conduct during a heated exchange with resident Ryan Wilson at an Aug. 24 meeting, formally putting the board’s disapproval of his behavior on the record.
The vote came after a tense, 90-minute discussion during which McMahon acknowledged that he should not have repeatedly interrupted Wilson but declined to apologize directly to him, even as Wilson sat in the audience.
“I’m apologizing to my board members,” McMahon said.
At the beginning of the discussion, McMahon said he had reflected on his conduct and acknowledged that he had fallen short.
“I didn’t need to interrupt the way I did,” he said. “I can’t snap like that. I have to be better, and I will be.”
McMahon added, “My promise to my board and the residents of Marblehead is that I will be better.”
He then moved to censure himself, saying his colleagues clearly did not support the way he had handled the Aug. 24 exchange.
The Aug. 24 confrontation occurred during public comment, when Wilson, a parent of two Marblehead High School students who works in market research, challenged McMahon’s repeated comments that underage drinking is approaching a dangerous “tipping point.” A recent Marblehead High risk survey showed a 10% drop in teens reporting drinking.
Wilson corrected another statistic McMahon had cited from the survey and questioned some of the conclusions McMahon had drawn from the data. McMahon repeatedly interrupted Wilson, and the exchange escalated into shouting.
Wilson also said McMahon had previously sent him a text calling him a “f—ing moron.”
Wednesday night, several residents told the board that the incident was part of a broader concern about whether people who disagree with McMahon feel comfortable speaking at Board of Health meetings.
Resident Cindy Schieffer offered several examples of collaborative initiatives to address underage drinking. She then spoke to McMahon.
“Your approach is to attack, at every turn, the very groups most critical to your calls: parents, our police department and our children,” she said. “So I ask the board today, if you look at the data and you still agree with Mr. McMahon that underage drinking remains one of your top priorities, please consider the way in which your representatives treat your community members going forward. We will not be bullied. Our opinions should not only be encouraged, they should be — as they are in Lynnfield and Saugus and Gloucester — an integral part of any initiative put forward.”
Another resident, Barbara Roy, described her own contentious interactions with McMahon and said the Aug. 24 confrontation was “not this isolated incident.”
Resident Kate Thomson also pointed to previous clashes with McMahon. She asked him directly how many times he had accused her of being a coward for not running for office.
“A handful,” McMahon replied.
“The answer is eight,” Thomson said.
She argued that those encounters showed the Aug. 24 exchange was not an isolated incident and urged board members to consider how McMahon responds to residents who disagree with him.
Three speakers defended McMahon, describing him as a dedicated board member who made a mistake and urging the board to accept an apology and move forward.
“I’m still a fan of Tom’s. I don’t like everything he does,” said resident Steve Elliott. “I’ve been married for 52 years, and I don’t like everything my wife does.”
Resident and town employee Terry Tauro added, “I’m glad everyone’s here to validate everyone’s feelings. It’s hard to have your feelings hurt. He (McMahon) didn’t behave appropriately. Let’s not treat it like we’re principals of a school. We’re all adults.”
Resident Kerry-Frances Bourne however, said she was stunned that McMahon would not apologize directly to Wilson and urged the other board members to hold him accountable.
“I’m astonished that he refused to apologize to Ryan Wilson, sitting right here, whose feelings are not hurt,” Bourne said. “Tom, they’re not hurt. Ryan is fine. It’s inappropriate if I looked at you right now, and said ‘you’re a f’ing moron,’” she added. “This is not OK.”
Bourne then turned her criticism toward McMahon’s fellow board members.
“I don’t care what you think, Tom. You’re going to be who you are,” she said. “But the rest of you, it’s your job to stand up and tell him no, and tell him that he does not speak for your board.”
Wilson also addressed the board Wednesday night, telling McMahon that the issue was not hurt feelings but the way an elected official responds to people who challenge him.
“I brought you inconvenient facts that you don’t like, and in exchange for doing that, you called me names,” Wilson said.
“You don’t get to be a bully about it just because you see it differently,” he added. “Own it, man up, change.… You need to choose kindness. You need to choose inclusivity.”
Residents also brought up McMahon’s Facebook page, where he regularly discusses Board of Health businesses and has sharply criticized the Police Chief Dennis King and Select Board Chair Dan Fox. One person asked whether McMahon should be asked to ease up on his posting related to town business.
Board member Kristen DuBay Horton said she had witnessed similar behavior since joining the board.
“This didn’t start September 24 but has happened in some way, shape or form at every meeting I’ve been in with you, Tom,” she said.
She urged McMahon to review recordings of previous Board of Health meetings and consider his conduct.
“Watch every public health meeting for the past year, and see how many times you behaved inappropriately from that seat, and then come back with an apology or whatever you want to,” she said. “But right now, I saw you almost go at it with the guy (Wilson) again. You’re not in the space to change your behavior when you’re still demonstrating it in this room tonight.”
Chair Thomas Massaro said his initial goal in calling the special meeting was not necessarily to censure McMahon but to make clear publicly that the board expects respectful conduct.
“I thought it was important for all of us to say we don’t condone this kind of behavior, and it needs to be on the record in public at a Board of Health meeting,” Massaro said.
Member Dr. Amanda Ritvo said the censure should not necessarily end the discussion, suggesting the board seek guidance about what recourse it would have if similar behavior occurs again.
“I disapprove of what Tom did, and so I therefore am in favor of censure,” Ritvo said. “I’m OK censoring as long as it’s not the end of the story.”
Massaro closed the discussion by saying the board and community now need to work together.
“I know we are all committed to be the best possible board we can be because we all care about this town,” he said. “We’ll have to work together with the community to make the best of the situation we find ourselves in. But I think this is a good start.”
