Today is recall election day. After 3,000 signatures were collected, and after 60 days of campaigning, Smithfield will finally get to make its decision.

So the question then, is, why should Mr. Tocco be removed? There are many specific actions he took that demonstrate he lacks the judgment, temperament and moral compass needed to lead our town. Many of these are detailed here, and more will be added. However, all these actions amount to a pattern of behavior that is simply not acceptable in Smithfield.

Over the past year, Smithfield has changed dramatically, and not for the better. People are telling us that they have lived in this town for 57 years and never, ever seen anything like the turmoil we are seeing now. Never before, through both Republican and Democratic control, have we seen four skilled and experienced department heads resign or retire early because they could not work with the Council President. Never before has a Council President tried to completely "clean house" by seeking to replace the Police and Fire Chiefs, the Information Services and Human Resource Directors, the Town Engineer, DPW Director, Building Official and Planner. Never before has the Police Department been used to prosecute completely frivolous cases against political rivals of Town Council members. Never before has the President of the Smithfield Town Council publicly humiliated town department heads at Council meetings and on broadcast radio. Never before has the Town Council held illegal closed session budget meetings and never before have town resources been abused to pay political favors.

And never, ever before has Smithfield had a Town Council President who was given an immunity deal to avoid being prosecuted for fraud, municipal corruption and paying bribes to city officials to secure lucrative contracts.

All the while, Mr. Tocco has withheld legally mandated finance reports, omitted material information on his ethics disclosure forms and submitted finance reports with a highly questionable signature purported to be from his campaign treasurer. During his campaign to retain his seat, Mr. Tocco has put up large billboards which violate our zoning ordnance, engaged in unethical “push polling” designed to deceive voters and accused tens of people of illegal activity and dishonesty.

It all comes from the top down. When Council President Tocco found he could not force the Town Manager to execute his will, he violated our Town Charter by going around our Town Manager and issuing instructions directly to Town employees. When asked by Dan Yorke on his radio show if he respects the Town Manager form of government, Tocco replied that he does “when it works.” And who decides if it is working or not? Tocco did, all by himself. When the Town Council voted to retain the Town Manager, Mr. Tocco dug up dirt and released it publicly, insisting that a truly minor indiscretion from that man’s past disqualified him to be our Town Manager. All this, while he knew full well what was in his own past.

Tocco behavior demonstrates that he is an “ends justifies the means” person. In his opinion, any law, oath, rule or regulation is completely flexible or disposable if it is in the way of getting his goal accomplished. Of course, the reason we have laws, rules and regulations is to make sure the interests of all persons are protected. We are a nation, and a town, of laws, not of men. Tocco’s actions show a complete disregard for our Town Charter and for the other Town Council members.

Upon reflection, this attitude should be no surprise. Tocco has a history of exactly this sort of thing. We all now know that Tocco paid huge bribes to city officials for two years. Tocco knew doing so would benefit him and his family personally, so the law became expendable. He told himself and others that he was the “victim” of extortion and, I believe, that to this very day he still believes he did nothing wrong. Tocco was happy, however, to release damaging information about the former Town Manager’s past, and insist that a lie on a fifteen-year-old resume was a “big red flag.” What’s good for the goose is not so good for the gander.

After Tocco became President of our Town Council, he decided he didn’t like the way the Town Manager was doing things. Despite two explicit charter prohibitions against doing so, Tocco issued instructions directly to Town employees. These instructions ranged from the mundane demand that a private road be sanded last winter to the extraordinary, such as demanding the Town Economic Director involve Tocco in every economic issue, no matter how slight.

State law requires that public office holders file certain financial disclosure forms on a regular basis. Tocco often files these forms late, the most recently filing a report 13 weeks late.

On his ethics disclosure forms, which are required of all elected officials, Mr. Tocco deliberately omitted information the form clearly called for.

Occasionally, a memo is circulated among town employees. The memo will state that “the Town Council” has decided something, or said something or so on. In fact, none of these issues have been considered at a Council meeting. So then, who is claiming that the Town Council appointed a fill-in town manager while the fill-in-fill-in was on vacation for 3 days?

Smithfield has lost quite a lot over the past year. Its time to close this chapter in our history and move forward again.