Bill Greiner runs Bedford, New Hampshire. Just ask him. Or, perhaps you can ask the people he bankrolls for public office not that they’ll ever admit it.
Bill’s got a lot of money and this appears to mean more to Bill than just being successful. It means he can push people around. Correction. It means that he thinks he can push people around and that he’s been successful doing that. Why else send an email to the employer of a resident to try and shut him up?
At the August 27th Planning Board Meeting Bedford resident, Kevin Gagne expressed some concern during public comment regarding a “project’s potential negative environmental and traffic impacts.” Bill’s project.
Bedford Bill Greiner didn’t like what Kevin had to say.
Kevin, in his letter to Town Council Chairman Bill Duschatko, explains.
I spoke at both meetings, raising concerns as a Bedford resident and never suggested in any way, shape or form that I was there at the request of, acting as a representative of, or speaking on behalf of my employer. Yet less than 24 hours after making his statements regarding the unconscionable behavior of Bedford residents, Mr. Greiner penned letters to my employer suggesting, without evidence, that I had engaged in unprofessional and unethical behavior.
Mr. Greiner’s accusations?
1. Mr. Greiner indicated that through all of his years in development and public service, he had never seen a professional engineer attend a public meeting and berate another engineer and cast aspersions towards that engineer until he saw me do so at the prior evenings meeting (Planning Board).
2. Mr. Greiner claimed that I continued my attacks on developers and professional engineers on social media
3. Mr. Greiner questioned whether he or his engineers could ever get a fair review (if my company was involved in a project) as a result of my “crusade” against them in “what can be seen as unprecedented and unethical behavior…”
4. Mr. Greiner indicated that he hoped that a company as highly regarded as my employer would not find
my behavior acceptable and would not condone it.
Greiner tried to use Kevin’s employer to shut him up and could have gotten him fired.
That would send a message to anyone else who dared to challenge the wishes of Bedford Bully Bill Greiner (BBBG).
Here’s a quick question. Does the BBBG realize that there is video evidence to show how Kevin Gagne comported himself?
This excerpt only includes Mr. Gagne’s remarks. The complete meeting video is available on BCTV.
Talk about nothing to see here.
Kevin reports that his employer reviewed the letter of complaint, examined all the evidence related to the allegations, and dismissed them all.
My employer took these allegations very seriously and immediately launched an investigation. After thorough review of the BCTV meeting videos and social media activity, they found no evidence to support the allegations and responded as much to Mr. Greiner, in writing.
Only Mr. Greiner knows the reason he researched me to identify and contact my employer with baseless allegations. I can only speculate that he hoped to silence my voice as a resident sharing my concerns about the negative impacts I believe the 206 Route 101, LLC, and Bow Lane Bedford, LLC project could have on our town.
I want to emphasize this point: Bill Greiner “researched me to identify and contact my employer.”
Here’s another question. Did Bedford Bill do that himself or did he ask someone to do it for him, and does he do this often?
Kevin continues,
I’m supporting a family of six with my income from this job. It is my livelihood, my family’s lifeline. It would be easy for me (and some would say wise) to just walk away in the face of intimidation and bullying. …
What sort of precedent would it set if we allow an adult bully to intimidate citizens from participating? What kind of a message would that send to my children about bullying if I stopped participating?
I’m just spitballing here but I don’t think the BBBG cares about your family. Your kids. Your wife. Your life. They mean nothing to Bedford Bill. Your job is to sit down and shut up and let him go about the business of running Bedford.
Kevin’s not having it.
In the weeks since I first offered testimony on this project, I have been made aware that others in Bedford have had similar experiences with Mr. Greiner. Most have expressed a desire to remain silent out of fear for their jobs or financially crippling litigation. I urge them to come forward and I will stand shoulder to shoulder with them, just as I would have done in the school yard. For my part, I commit to you that I will not cower to strong arm intimidation tactics. I will continue to come before you as a resident of Bedford and freely express my thoughts and concerns on this or any project.
We applaud Kevin for refusing to back down in the face of baseless accusations and deliberate acts of intimidation. It is individuals like Kevin Gagne who keep local government (and those interacting with it) transparent and accountable, and we need more like him.
Bedford residents should do themselves a favor and offer their support for public comment and in opposition to the intimidation tactics used by Bedford Bully Bill Griener. We also invite others who have been objects of similar forms of intimidation to share their stories with us. We’ll be happy to review your evidence and report your story.
Sunlight is (after all) the best disinfectant at every level of government.
Here’s the complete letter by Mr. Gagne to the Chair of the Bedford Town Council.
Kevin_Gagne_Letter
Image Credit: Girard at Large
Update: Corrected some formatting issues in the text.
