WELLFLEET — Kathleen Bacon submitted her resignation from the Wellfleet Select Board on Wednesday, July 19, citing “irreconcilable differences with the board, lack of leadership, and undue stress” in a letter she sent to the other members of the board.
Bacon was elected in 2022 as a write-in candidate after Helen Miranda Wilson retired early from her fourth term on the board. Bacon had previously served a full three-year term from 2017 to 2020.
“I have worked incredibly hard in the year I have been back on the board, but I simply lack the enthusiasm needed at this time,” Bacon told her fellow board members in the letter.
Bacon’s resignation came the morning after the board voted to reorganize and elect Barbara Carboni as chair, removing former chair Ryan Curley after a sudden eruption of conflict on the board emerged from a June 27 executive session. The origin of that turmoil remains unclear, and the minutes of the executive session had not been released by the Independent’s deadline this week.
During the board’s discussion of reorganizing itself on July 18, Bacon nominated herself to be the chair, saying: “I feel we are at a critical time, and I am more in tune and invested in the community at this point in time.” Carboni was elected instead.
When she was nominated by board member Michael DeVasto to serve as vice chair, Bacon responded, “Been there, done that, so, thank you, no.”
In an interview, newly elected vice chair John Wolf said that Bacon had “expected to be the chair, but it didn’t happen.” He added: “Things are what they are.”
Bacon said she would remain on the board until after a special town election scheduled for Sept. 27 so that candidates for the remainder of her term — eight months — would have enough time to campaign for the seat. Bacon’s term will expire in May 2024, when another three-year term will begin.
“I could not feel more pride in being allowed to be a part of such a fine and dedicated group,” Bacon said in an email to the Independent. “It is a good time to exit. I am looking forward to a quieter time at this stage of my life.”
Town Administrator Rich Waldo said that Bacon has been “a dedicated public servant, selflessly serving her community, fighting for housing, and helping restore Wellfleet to the strong values it was built on.”
