Mayor foes differ on Madden fire return

WEYMOUTH - Mayoral candidate Sue Kay said that the return of Mayor David Madden to the position of fire chief would almost definitely result in a lawsuit against the town.

Her opponent, Colin McPherson, said he can’t see where a lawsuit would come from because Madden is within his legal rights to return to the post.

The comments were made during meetings with The Patriot Ledger editorial board Wednesday in response to questions about who both would expect to see in the fire chief’s position when the new mayor takes office in January.

Madden took a leave of absence from his job as fire chief to run for mayor in 1999 and is strongly considering returning now that he’s not running for re-election. He points to a section of state law that allows Civil Service employees to be elected mayor and to return to their jobs after serving their term.

Kay said his return shouldn’t be viewed as a given.

“I don’t believe anyone is entitled in the town of Weymouth to anything, certainly not entitled to a position from a leave of absence,” Kay said.

In question is what happens to current chief Robert Leary. Leary has said he’s not sure what Madden’s return would mean for his job, and the question would likely have to be answered in court.

Kay said she was party to a meeting after Madden took office where he said Leary was unquestionably the new permanent fire chief.

“One of the councilors asked the question, ‘Are you going to make the chief interim?’ knowing that Mayor Madden had taken leave of absence and nobody really knew if he was coming back or not,” Kay said. “Mayor Madden stated that no, this was going to be a permanent position.”

McPherson said his understanding has always been that Leary is an interim or acting chief. McPherson said Madden is clearly within his legal rights to return, and can’t see why a lawsuit would be filed in the matter.

“My understanding is, eight years ago Mayor Madden ran and was up-front that this is what he was doing,” McPherson said. “It’s been known for eight years that this day was coming. Everything he’s doing is allowed under law. He’s not doing anything he’s not allowed to do. So from a legal perspective, I’m not sure where the legal challenge comes from.”

Madden has yet to say publicly whether he’ll return. Leary said Madden has told him he is no longer fire chief as of Jan. 2, the day Madden’s term ends.

Kay said giving such a notice to Leary was “not fair, ’specially in light of the fact that it will probably be investigated further.”

Kay did not directly say who she thinks should be fire chief under her administration but has contacted the Civil Service Commission about the situation.

“Their comment is, ‘Oh we’ve never run up against this,’” she said.

McPherson said he sees Madden as chief if he exercises his right to return.

“He’s going to do what he’s legally entitled to do,” McPherson said. “I’m not sure there’s anything I can do about that.”

Jack Encarnacao may be reached at jencarnacao@ledger.com.