Fire official resigns as selectman

Selectman James Wiksten's absence from his board's weekly meetings for the past two months has been, as one colleague put it, like an ''elephant in the bedroom," something nobody spoke of. That changed Monday, when Wiksten came to the selectmen's meeting and read his letter of resignation.

Wiksten, who is a also local firefighter, stopped attending selectmen's meetings in July because he was increasingly concerned that his promotion to fire lieutenant two years ago might have violated the state's ethics laws. Town Manager John Healey said the former selectman had read a newspaper account about an area police chief under investigation by the Ethics Commission for accepting two job promotions while serving as a selectman, adding to his concern.

''Jim blew the whistle on himself after seeing the article," Healey said. Wiksten asked the state's Ethics Commission for an opinion on his situation. A ruling has not yet been made, Healey said.

Wiksten may have had good reason for concern. While the state Ethics Commission will not comment on any report or investigation into possible misconduct, a recent enforcement action outlined on the agency's website showed some similarities to Wiksten's case.

A Lowell High School guidance counselor who also served on the City Council was fined $6,000 for applying for and accepting a promotion to high school house master during his City Council tenure. The Ethics Commission pointed out in its conclusion that state law prohibits ''a municipal employee who is elected to the city council from being eligible for appointment or reappointment to a new position while he is on the council or for six months after." The conflict-of-interest law states that the same prohibition applies to the office of selectman.

Wiksten has been a firefighter in Middleborough since 1986 and a selectman since 1998. While he has consistently withdrawn from all discussions about the Fire Department, Wiksten did accept a promotion to lieutenant in 2003. He also received a 27 percent increase in his hourly pay rate, when the latest firefighter contract was ratified in June. The rate jumped from $21.85 to $27.69 per hour.

Fire Chief Robert Silva said that he is the one who promoted Wiksten and that the selectmen had no say. ''It is actually based solely on seniority and a score they get on the test," Silva said. ''If he passes the test and he's the most senior person, he gets the promotion. I can't deny him, so him being a selectman doesn't even come into play."

Silva said he has never received a complaint from his staff that Wiksten receives any special treatment. ''He's treated just like everybody else," Silva said. ''I give Jim a lot of credit for being proactive about this, but I'm just sort of disappointed he had to lose his position."

Selectman Adam Bond said his colleague did the right thing by withdrawing from the board without waiting for an ethics ruling. He said the public was becoming increasingly curious about Wiksten's prolonged absence from the board.

''I got a lot of calls," Bond said. ''People in town were trying to figure out what was going on. I understand the care he was taking, but I think what he ultimately decided to do was right."

Bond said none of the calls from the public, either before or after Wiksten's resignation, have criticized him. ''I don't think anybody bears him any ill will," Bond said. ''I respect the fact that he is truthful and that he has done a lot for the town."

Bond, who is a lawyer, refused to give his opinion on the matter. ''I never focused one way or the other on his ethical obligations," Bond said. ''If we were discussing fire issues, I would have said something if he didn't get up and out, but he always did."

Concerning benefits Wiksten received from the recent contract negotiated by the firefighters' union and the selectmen, Bond said Wiksten wasn't sitting on either side of the bargaining table.

''The Board of Selectmen voted the contract unanimously, but the town meeting didn't do anything differently," Bond said, referring to the June town meeting's ratification of the agreement. ''The people that give the raises ultimately are the town meeting not the selectmen."

According to Bond, the town's charter says the selectmen must call for a special election to fill any vacancy on the board, if the town's yearly election is more than three months away. Middleborough's annual election is not until mid-April.

Town Clerk Eileen Gates said an election will be scheduled after Wiksten notifies her office in writing that he has resigned.

Christine Wallgren can be reached at CLWallgren@aol.com.