Wilmington Select board members Lilia Maselli (left) and Frank West during a heated exchange with resident Kevin MacDonald during the Select Board meeting on Oct. 10, 2023. (Courtesy of Wilmington Community Television)
WILMINGTON — Tempers flared at the end of the Oct. 10 Board of Selectmen meeting in Wilmington when a resident spoke during public comment alleging that town employees had been subject to a COVID vaccine mandate -19, a claim that the municipal administrator has since refuted.
At the end of the meeting, after the board had chosen a new interim town manager to fill the position following the Oct. 31 retirement of Town Manager Jeffrey Hull, Select Board Chairman Gary DePalma asked if anyone in the audience had any public comments. Kevin MacDonald, a resident and former Select Board candidate, stood at the microphone, carrying pieces of poster with pictures and information, and began to warn of an “imminent financial impact” on Wilmington regarding vaccinations. the COVID-19.
“I want to share with you some information from a documentary I saw recently that is about the consequences of vaccines,” MacDonald said.
DePalma and Select Board member Lilia Maselli chimed in, questioning what COVID-19 vaccines had to do with anything the board had discussed overnight.
“You’re supposed to comment on anything that comes up at the meeting,” Maselli said.
MacDonald then claimed that the vaccines were somehow tied to the board’s vote to appoint an interim city manager, which Maselli and DePalma immediately refuted, while MacDonald displayed a large QR code for the documentary “Suddenly Dead,” which makes the dubious claim that the COVID-19 vaccines are killing people as part of a global conspiracy.
MacDonald then claimed that he had been told of city employees who had suffered negative health outcomes from the vaccines, which he later claimed Hull ordered from city employees. At least some of the individuals in question, MacDonald said he did not know who they were. When MacDonald asked Hull if there was a vaccination mandate for city employees, he remained silent, which he later said in a statement was because he didn’t believe the public comment was a dialogue between the speaker and city officials.
In a written statement to the press on Oct. 16, Hull said Macdonald’s claims about a vaccine mandate “couldn’t be further from the truth.”
“Employees were never directed to get the COVID vaccine or to correct the risk. Instead, employees were told how to get details about the vaccine, where they could get the vaccine, and were advised to consult with your doctor about the merits of getting vaccinated,” Hull said in his statement. “The decision to obtain vaccination was left entirely to the discretion of each employee.”
MacDonald during the meeting went on to state that the city would suffer financially “a health care crisis out of control.”
“This is a big problem when people have myocarditis, blood clots and other serious problems,” MacDonald said.
That’s when things took a turn, as DePalma asked MacDonald out loud.
“Who has had them?” DePalma said.
“A firefighter who is probably the best firefighter in town,” MacDonald said aloud in response.
“Don’t raise your voice at me my friend,” shouted DePalma.
Maselli then spoke again, saying she would leave if the conversation continued like this, prompting MacDonald to focus on her before discussing Maselli’s job as a site experience manager at Analogue Devices, which has a facility in Wilmington that MacDonald claimed had gas leaks that often require a response from the Wilmington Fire Department.
“I’m just asking if our fire department is at risk of going to Analogue because they’re leaking,” MacDonald said.
Maselli was adamant that she is not at the meeting as an Analogue employee and that discussing her company would be a conflict of interest. As the meeting began to wind down, Maselli became more frustrated with MacDonald, leading to the most heated exchange of the evening.
“Better nobody in town likes you or listens to what you say,” Maselli said.
“Go get some ice cream,” MacDonald said.
“Why don’t you say it yourself,” Maselli said loudly into the microphone before leaving the meeting.
MacDonald has been involved in disruptive incidents inside and outside government meetings in the past. During last April’s annual town meeting, the town moderator had to ask MacDonald to leave the meeting. In 2019 he was also arrested for allegedly assaulting a construction worker with a backhoe.
