Select Board Candidates Accused Of Misusing Town Seal

CHATHAM – Incumbent select board candidates Jeffrey Dykens and Michael Schell have been accused of violating state law by using the official town seal and town property for political gain.

The two select board members were also accused of failing to file the proper campaign finance paperwork.

Residents Carol Gordon and Elaine Gibbs made the charges at the May 6 select board meeting. They said Dykens and Schell used the official town seal in campaign advertisements and on social media posts and that they met with pilots at Chatham Airport, which is town-owned property. They also accused the two candidates of conflict of interest and ethics violations by using their positions as select board members to secure special privileges. 

The candidates denied any wrongdoing. 

“Everything you’ve just said is plain wrong,” Schell said at last week’s session. “It is unfounded.”

The candidates said they had used a town logo, which is featured on the town’s website and other publications, but not the official town seal. The two graphics are different: the logo features a color drawing of the twin Chatham lighthouses and Coast Guard Station and also appears on the town flag. The town seal, published in the town’s general bylaws, is black and white and mainly features text.

Gordon said state law prohibits unauthorized use of an official town seal. Use of the seal in political ads “could rightfully be interpreted as the town supporting these candidates,” she said.

Schell pointed out that the seal and logo are different, and the town bylaws only refer to the official seal. 

Gibbs disagreed. The graphic that includes the lighthouses may not be official, but “it’s the one we know,” she said, and is used on town documents and the town’s website. 

“People who look at that seal assume it has been sanctioned by the town,” she said. “I would suggest that as far the citizens of this town know, that’s our town seal. So it’s immaterial what the real seal is that nobody’s seen in a long time.”

According to Massachusetts state law, unauthorized use of an official town seal is punishable by a fine of not more than $50. The town’s general bylaw makes the town clerk custodian of the town seal, but there is no mention of a penalty for its unauthorized use. A state ethics commission advisory on public employee political activity states that a logo or seal should not be used in campaign material. Select board members are considered public employees in Massachusetts.

Airport Meeting

Schell and Dykens said they were invited to the May 3 meeting at the airport. Similar sessions involving candidates have been held in town buildings, such as the community center, by local political committees, they said.

The candidates were invited to meet with pilots by airport commission Chair Huntley Harrison, who said in an email that the session was not sanctioned by the commission and was meant to be an informal conversation with pilots. 

Schell and Dykens said they responded to the invitation as they would have to any other interest group in town. It was not their decision whether to invite the other two candidates running for the select board, they said. 

“It was a brainstorming session as much as a meet-and-greet,” Dykens said. 

The session was a clear violation of state law, Gordon asserted. “You cannot use town property for political gain,” she said. “They could have easily walked down to the VFW and held their meeting.” She said Town Manager Jill Goldsmith was aware of the situation but “apparently chose not to address it.”

Airport commission member T. Edmund Burke resigned over the meeting, saying that he did not believe the commission should support specific candidates. The full commission should have been consulted before Harrison set up the session, he said.

Harrison said the session was not an official commission meeting, although he did inform the other commissioners about it and one other member attended along with himself. The candidates “wanted to have some time with the local pilots, and I asked the Friends of Chatham Airport to send out an all call,” he wrote in an email. “The airport is a public space and like the community center public meetings are fine to be held there. There was no restriction on who could attend and no one was turned away.”

Resident Gloria Hicks said Dykens approached members of the human services committee seeking endorsement of his and Schell’s candidacies after a meeting at the annex, which she said was also a violation of campaign laws. Dykens is the board’s liaison to the committee.

Select board candidate Brian Phillips said he sought signatures on his nomination papers at a meeting at the annex. “I didn’t know I was doing anything wrong,” he said at last week’s meeting.

Campaign Advertising

A campaign ad in The Chronicle stated that it was “Paid for by the Dykens-Schell Re-Election Committee,” but Gibbs said no paperwork for such a committee was on file with the town clerk, as required by Massachusetts campaign laws. On campaign finance forms filed with the clerk, both candidates checked boxes indicating they did not have campaign committees, she said.

Chronicle Advertising Sales Manager Justin Alex said the ad was submitted ready for publication by select board member Shareen Davis. In an email, Davis said she laid out the ad using content and graphics provided by the candidates. The line in the ad was “an error,” Dykens said. 

Although the candidates have appeared in ads together, they paid for the ads individually using their own money and did not solicit contributions, Dykens said. The financial forms posted by the town clerk reflect that both Dykens and Schell paid all of their own campaign expenses and did not receive any contributions.

Both candidates have run for office before and should know the campaign laws, Gibbs said.

“These were not mistakes, as campaign finance laws are clear,” she said. This is exactly why the level of trust the public has in the current town government is virtually nonexistent. I find this really egregious. These are really serious. This is not right.

“You have violated laws and there should be some consequences,” she said.

“This campaign has not been on a level playing field,” Gordon said.

Dykens said he objected to the insinuation that he and Schell were betraying the public trust and using town resources and facilities to benefit their campaigns.

“We have conducted ourselves with the absolutely highest probity,” Schell said.