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Jerome Klobukowski was ousted from the presidency of the Poolesville commissioners April 6 but will remain a commissioner.
Commissioner Kerri Cook was chosen as the next president during the April 6 town meeting, which the commissioners conducted via video conferencing.
Valaree Dickerson, vice president of the commissioners, called for his removal as president after what she described as six months of she and her fellow commissioners telling Klobukowski he had to stop using the town hall as his office, using its internet and asking Poolesville staff to do things.
The commission members never accused Klobukowski of doing personal business at the town offices. Instead, they said even if it was town business, it is against the town charter and not fair to office staff for Klobukowski to set up an office, especially when the offices currently are closed to the public due to COVID-19.
On Thursday, Manager Seth Rivard explained that Klobukowski was coming in “pretty much every day” and giving direction to the staff that was not discussed beforehand with his fellow commissioners.
“He shouldn’t be directing staff without discussing it with others,” he said.
Klobukowski disputed what was said about him. “You took my office away, okay fine, so I was working in the large room,” he said of the large conference room.
“I take my job seriously and with a great deal of pride,” he said, adding, “Some may see this as being overzealous. I see it as necessary to meet the challenges of the job.”
He continued, “I find it really extraordinary and way out of bounds that no one can use town hall to write a memo.”
He described the vote to strip him of the presidency as “like using a nuclear bomb to put out a kitchen fire.”
Klobukowski, who does not have internet at home, held onto his role as president until the bitter end and even called the vote to remove him as president. All commissioners except him voted in favor of stripping him of his title.
“We were very clear” in requesting that Klobukowski refrain from doing business in town hall, Dickerson said, noting that his response was, ‘”If the board doesn’t like it, they can remove me.’”
Dickerson called for “a permanent ban, period” on individual members using the town hall as their own office “even if it is for town business.”
Commissioner Martin Radigan praised Klobukowski, noting, “Jerry has a passion for his work.” But he agreed with his fellow commissioners that it wasn’t right for Klobukowski to use the hall regularly and to ask staff for assistance.
“To me it just all boils down to the distraction factor,” he said, adding, “Distraction is probably putting it mildly.”
According to the town charter, as vice president, Dickerson should have stepped up to the presidency. However, she nominated Cook instead, explaining that she had previously decided not to run for another term in November.
“I really was trying to avoid the vote we just took,” said the newly-elected Cook, adding she had a lot of respect for Klobukowski. “I just want to really more forward.”
