Numerical Genius 1952 v. Townsend, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20251861)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records June 26, 2025 SPR25/1861 Numerical Genius 1952 VIA EMAIL Dear Numerical Genius 1952: I have received your letter appealing the response of the Town of Townsend to your request for records. I have directed a member of my staff, Thomas Lynn, Esq., to review this matter. Upon completion of the review, I will advise you in writing of the disposition of this case. If in the interim you receive a satisfactory response to your request, please notify this office immediately. Any further correspondence concerning this specific appeal should refer to the SPR case number listed under the date of this letter. Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Harrison Mayotte One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 • (617) 727-2832• Fax: (617) 727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre • pre@sec.state.ma.us

From: Numerical Genius 1952 To: SEC-DL-PREWEB Cc: RAO; Nelson Mui; Veronica Kell Subject: Re: [EXTERNAL] Public Records Request Date: Thursday, June 26, 2025 1:00:15 PM Dear Supervisor of Records, I am appealing the Town of Townsend’s June 20, 2025 response to my public records request (submitted June 8, 2025), which sought communications from Select Board Vice Chair Veronica Kell relating to the assignment or redirection of blame for procedural errors, policy failures, or negative public outcomes during the period of January 1, 2024 through June 8, 2025. The Town’s response: “no records responsive.” Not a single email, message, memo, or passing remark fitting the description. This is not merely implausible—it borders on the surreal. Ms. Kell is not exactly known for her quiet diplomacy. Her tone in public meetings is often condescending, and she is well-documented as having berated fellow board and committee members over relatively minor matters. Her habit of assigning fault and engaging in defensive public posturing has been evident to anyone with a working internet connection and access to Townsend’s public meetings. Yet I am asked to believe that in 17 months of active service, not one record exists in which she so much as hinted that someone else was to blame? That she—through emails, memos, or even casual commentary—never deflected responsibility, corrected a narrative, or forwarded a message with her trademark tone of detached superiority? Either the Town failed to conduct a proper search, or Ms. Kell has discovered an entirely off-grid method of blame redirection, unknown to the rest of government. Request for Determination I respectfully request that the Supervisor of Records: Determine that the Town’s search was insufficient under the standard of a reasonable and thorough review; Direct the Town to re-execute the search across all relevant platforms (email, text, messaging apps, and personal devices used for town business); And affirm that “no records responsive” cannot be treated as a placeholder for “we’d rather not go there.” Transparency demands more than a shrug and a rejection. And frankly, in a town where the paper trail is often paved in blame, the absence of any trace defies belief. Sent with Proton Mail secure email. On Friday, June 20th, 2025 at 10:46 AM, RAO <rao@townsendma.gov> wrote: Dear Requestor, After a careful search, it was determined that there are no records responsive to this request.

If you believe you have been improperly denied access to public records, you have the right to appeal this response to the Supervisor of Records under 950 CMR 32.08(1). The Supervisor may be reached at: Public Records Division Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth One Ashburton Place, 17th Floor Boston, MA 02108 Sincerely, Harrison C. Mayotte Town Clerk Town of Townsend Memorial Hall, 272 Main St. | Townsend, MA 01469 t: 978.597.1700 ext: 1704| f: 978.597.8135| www.townsendma.gov When writing or responding, please remember that the Secretary of State's Office has determined that email is public record.​ From: Numerical Genius 1952 <numericalgenius1952@proton.me> Sent: Sunday, June 8, 2025 16:30 To: RAO <rao@townsendma.gov>; Clerk <clerk@townsendma.gov>; Nelson Mui <NMui@townsendma.gov>; Veronica Kell <vkell@townsendma.gov> Subject: [EXTERNAL] Public Records Request Dear Records Access Officer, Pursuant to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, M.G.L. c. 66 §10 and M.G.L. c. 4 §7(26), I respectfully submit this public records request seeking access to municipal communications created, received, or maintained by Selectman Veronica Kell that relate to the assignment or redirection of blame for procedural errors, policy failures, or negative public outcomes to other individuals involved in town governance or operations. This request is made in the public interest to examine potential administrative deflection or misattribution of responsibility by an elected official and to ensure transparency and accountability in local government. From: January 1, 2024 Through: June 8, 2025 (inclusive) I am requesting all written and electronic communications - including emails, messages, memos, internal notes, or correspondence - authored or received by Selectman Veronica Kell that involve or suggest an attempt to redirect responsibility, shift blame, or publicly or internally assign fault for any perceived or actual error, delay, failure, or miscommunication related to town business, operations, or public relations.

Please include records created, sent, or received through official town systems, third- party platforms used for public business, and any personal accounts/devices used for town affairs. The request includes, but is not limited to: Emails, Texts, and Internal Messaging Platforms Emails to or from town employees, volunteers, or board/committee members in which Selectman Kell: Assigns fault or accuses others of wrongdoing Attributes procedural errors to another party Suggests someone else is to blame for a mistake or controversy Pushes back against public criticism by redirecting responsibility Text messages or instant messages (iMessage, Signal, WhatsApp, Slack, Teams, etc.) containing the same themes Forwarded Messages and Commentary Emails forwarded by Selectman Kell containing: Annotations blaming or critiquing others Comments that reframe responsibility for actions or decisions she participated in Emails where she is not the author of the initial message but adds commentary suggesting fault lies elsewhere Formal or Informal Memoranda Drafts, internal memos, or statements prepared or reviewed by Selectman Kell where the narrative presents: Other individuals as responsible for problems that arose during her tenure Inaccurate summaries of events to shift blame for actions taken by her, the Select Board, or other governing bodies Communications Targeting Specific Roles Please include any record in which the blame is placed on: Town employees (e.g., Town Administrator, Former Town Administrator, Department Heads) Volunteers or appointees (e.g., members of boards/committees/commissions) Fellow Select Board members Public contractors or vendors acting under town authority Keyword Guidance to Facilitate Retrieval (Non-Exhaustive) While I do not limit this request to keyword matches, the following keywords may assist in locating responsive records: "not my responsibility" "this was [Name]'s job" "I was not aware" "they never told me" "this was the [department/board/employee]'s mistake" "I advised against this" "I told them not to" "this is on [Name]" "I wouldn’t have done it that way" "we were misinformed"

"communications breakdown" "failure on their part" "don’t blame me" "talk to [Name/Role]" "poor execution by [Name/Department]" Please provide the responsive records in electronic format, including but not limited to: PDFs of emails or memos Native format files of attachments (.docx, .xlsx, etc.) Metadata (to, from, timestamp, subject line, and any email headers) if technically feasible Full message threads when a conversation includes Selectman Kell at any point If files are too large to send by email, a downloadable link is acceptable. As this request is made for a public purpose—to scrutinize the administrative conduct of a public official—I request a waiver of all fees pursuant to 950 CMR 32.07(2)(k). If any fees are unavoidable, please provide a detailed cost estimate before beginning production of records. Please respond to this request within 10 business days as prescribed by the Massachusetts Public Records Law. If additional time is required due to the scope or need for clarification, I am available to confer and narrow the request as needed. Sent with Proton Mail secure email.