As someone who has been and still is involved in Summer Baseball activity in town, I wish to defend Daniel Strauss' reputation here.

In my dealings with her over field use and the conflicts that have sometimes arisen, Danielle has ALWAYS acted in a fair and professional manner.

Before you throw dirt on someone like Ms. Strauss, let's hear some facts.

Completely absurd allegations. My kids have outgrown the town rec programs but in the years I dealt with Danielle she was always professional in her handling of any issues that arose.

So typical of this town - throw someone under the bus before doing any research. Of course some people will complain if they or their kids don't get picked for something. I'm not saying it is true or not - I have no idea. I just like to see some proof before people are publicly accused of something. Mr Kessler- aren't people innocent until proven guilty? Sit in on the interviews and do your own investigating before disparaging someone's reputation.

"Selectman Kessler also questioned the town bringing back summer employees for up to three summers." Why would you question that? They've already been trained in the job, and could step right back in to perform it well. Someone that has already worked for the town, has experience in that exact position, and is eager to work, should go to the top of the list. It would save time, energy, and money for the town if the employee doesn't need training.

How about we question the competence of the selectmen.......We really need to discuss this in a meeting......Sounds like someone he knows did not get a job last summer.......

Not to get all "tit-for-tat" on you all, but I had the exact opposite experience. My daughter applied for a job with the rec department for 2 - 3 years running and while she was asked to be a "fill-in", she never got the golden ticket for a full time summer job, and I consider Danielle to be a friend. What is really going on here?

It sounds like VanDam and Kessler have " buddied up " and are on a witch hunt.
Glenn Kessler seems to like to get his name in print.

Why shouldn't he be believed? I do not think he would make it up

Glenn: You really need to explain why you think it os okay to question the integrity of a town employee without providing any verifiable evidence of wrong doing.The Rereation Director works for the Town Administrator,not the Selectmen. If you can prove something is wrong, bring it up to the Town Administrator.I believe the Town Administrator shoud be spending his time his time on issues such as flood control studies ,regional cooperation,and budget issues, not wasting his time interviewing high school kids looking for park jobs.Prove your case or apologize .

As mentioned in the article I was at an event with my daughter but I am disturbed by what I have read here and heard about what was said at last nights meeting. I have reviewed this issue with the town administrator the personnel director and the recreation director and am completely satisfied that the process is fair and unbiased. My conversations with the town administrator indicate that he also is satisfied and intends to keep the process in place. His attendance at interviews is due to an injury to the personnel director not a lack of confidence in the process or in the recreation director. In my opinion no employee should have his or her integrity impugned in public with immunity by any official with absolutely no offer of proof other than a few unspecified phone calls or conversations. If there are individuals who are concerned they should bring those concerns to the town administrator who is responsible by charter for managing our employees. It is unfair to ask our valued employees to work in an environment in which they are subject to unsubstantiated attacks. This opinion is my own and does not reflect the opinion of the Board of Selectmen. Jill Sullivan

Jill-absolutely agree. It is OUTRAGEOUS that Glenn Kessler bring something like this up. It is unwarranted and unsubstantiated.

This has been going on for years...the same families are always hired. My kids interviwed twice and were never called. One is a certified life guard....Glenn is correct.

Mary Lou- Everyone who interviews to be a lifeguard is a certified lifeguard. If you interview to be an accountant, you should be a certified public accountant. Kids are brought back for repeat summers most likely because they are good at their job! That's one of the fundamental principles of management. Why should more time be spent training new personnel for the safety of our children who could potentially be a bad fit? Danielle is running a fantastic department and the unfounded public harassment is an embarrassment. She is owed a serious apology.

I think that this article is absolutely wrong. Speaking as someone who has worked for Danielle and did not know her personally before hand, I think that her selection is very fair. Just because someone's kid didn't get picked for the job doesn't mean that Danielle is being biased. The parents need to stay out of this. If the child is applying for the job, then they should be the one dealing with the situation and maybe ask Danielle why they didn't get it, not complain to their partens about not getting the job. There are hundreds of kids that apply for this job that only accepts 20 kids. Of course if she knows the child it might give them an advantage because Danielle knows if they are responsible and will do their work but this is the case for any job at any age. When people are referred to her, she focuses on their work ethic and responsibility not who is referring them. And if someone's kid did not get picked then maybe that means that there was not enough spots to fill or they just didn't fit the criteria. Danielle is doing a great job and I think that people need to lay off.

Mary Lou-Remember-nearly 90 percent of the jobs get picked from a hat. I think thats way more random then most people would expect.

Gee, Don; that sounds like a direct violation of the state ethics regulations.

I'd be happy to have the state ethics commission get involved, and request that the Inspector General depose you and other under oath to determins the validity of these allegations.

Who's with me?

When my son applied for the job, Danielle said no to him because we had supported another selectman in the town race. He was given no opportunity what so ever to be heard and was not given a fair shot.

I can only thank Glen Kessler and Mrs. Van Dam for bringing this up and hopefully moving forward things will change within the town of Swampscott.

Thank you again Mr. Kessler, hopefully things will change and be fair in Swampscott in the near future.

-Another

Finally the true agenda comes out, as it does with all elected officials. Maybe it's time to do away with this form of government. Maybe we should conduct a nation wide search for a proven succesful administrator, and compensate them accordingly. One who actually has experience, profesionalism and above all else without dissention. Maybe the time of five people with personal agendas and vendettas has out lived it's usefulness. At our current tax rate, I believe we deserve better!

When I first met Mr. Kessler at the farmer's market, he told me that the market had been his idea and that he had made it happen. Of course, he didn't know who I was and he didn't know that I in fact did know who's idea it really was and the people who had really made it happen. I was amazed at the way he lied so easily. Now he is engaged in character assassination, disparaging the reputation of a town employee in public without offering a single verifiable fact. The fact is, as Ms. Sullivan has noted, no matter the truth of the matter, it should have first been explored with the town administrator. That was the proper procedure. Of course, many of us believe Mr. Kessler's real motive is to sling mud at Danielle Strauss in the hope that some will land on her husband, Matt. Such dirty politics hopefully will not stand. Of course, once the dust has settled and all this has proven to be complete non-sense, maybe the best course of action at that time will be a recall petition for Mr. Kessler. After all, his willingness to slander people in the court of public opinion without facts simply to advance his own political agenda does not serve the interest of Swampscott citizens. In fact, though on a much smaller scale, it rings of blatant McCarthyism.

Wow. Someone has put his name on an accusation that is eitber true or not true.
What is next? I suggest District Attorney Blodgett assign someone to interview Mr Hayes ASAP.
Perjury is punishable in Massacusetts with five years in jail.

Mr Hayes
No, not at all. I certainly was not aware of any of this and am gratefull you have put youself on the line with an accusation of criminality. Now, it is out in the open and the proper authorities can do something about it.There must be more than the two of you. I suppose the District Attorney will force Patch to reveal the ID of Agg parent. Y

Mr Hayes, I hope for your sake that your daughters actually did apply for the rec jobs as you have stated because that information is a matter of public record and I'm sure someone is going to check it out. If they didn't you could face one heck of a slander suit. Could you supply the month and year of the applications just to make it easy for whomever decides to research it?

Kessler invented the farmers market. Lol! He should call Al Gore and ask him about the Internet

No, Mr Kessler did not accuse the Rec Director of criminal behavior.You did.
This ain't bean bags.

Ms Strauss became the recreation director while......her husband Matt Strauss was a selectman....enough said....

It's amazing how people can spout nonsense without any qualms that they are slandering someone. Liz you need to do your homework. Danielle was rec director well before Matt Strauss ran for Selectman. Just another bogus claim based on some type of silly personal vendetta against the recreation director.

I also see that Mr. Hayes' posts have been removed. That's good because I researched his claim this morning at the town hall and found it to be completely without merit. No child listing her father as Donald Hayes has ever applied for a summer job at the rec department. In fact, the name Donald Hayes may very well be a pseudonym. According to the town census, there is a Steven Hayes who has two daughters. I have no reason to believe that Steven Hayes is Donald Hayes but just to be certain I checked and neither of his daughters has ever applied for a rec position either.

So where does this leave us? In support of Mr. Kessler's improper accusation we now have one completely discredited claim and one anonymous claim. It would be good if the anonymous person would identify herself (or himself) so that the veracity of the claim can be determined. I suspect this will not happen, however, because that claim too will be proved baseless.

As for Mr. Kessler, His behavior was inappropriate and shameful and he needs to publicly apologize to the recreation director for his violation of the open meeting law at her expense.

And people wonder why we can't seem to keep any principals here...

Quite frankly, Mr. Kessler doesn't have a clue. Rather he has an axe to grind with Ms. Strauss and has allowed it to cloud his thought process while executing his duties as a Selectman. Mr. Kessler obviously has an agenda to fulfill with Ms. Strauss....... unfortunately, it's the children of this town who will suffer and a great public administrator will be distracted because Mr. Kessler hasn't been called out for what he is- a boob.

Mr bob c
I believe your comment about the Brooklyn bridge is rude. I believe there are always 2 sides to every story and there is truth to both sides. I hope you teach your children to be open minded and not closed minded, opinionated, and not rude. I am proud to say I teach my kids not to be judgmental until they have ALL the information.
I am amazed by all the name calling in the comments. There is no need for that. We have kids who read the Patch what are we teaching them. If the rec director is doing ger job on the up and up the town admin. Will verify it. I am not saying she is or is not. I do not know what she does or how she does the hiring. If what glenn shared ,that some residents had concerns about the rec director then he kept his word that he would inquire into the situation if appointed .

It sounds like many people know how the rec dept interviews and hires the kids. Hiring is a subjective process most of the time! Anyone who hires does so on skill and likeability. The likeability. May be the issue here .maybe the solution. Can be a 2 part interview one with the rec diector then a small group interview then the lottery done. Soneone on the rec committee other than the rec director picks the names. Just a thought. I am glad my kids have a job at camp for the summer.

Our town charter (adopted by the town voters in 2002) clearly delineates the town governance structure. The Charter specifically states that the BOS is not to become involve in day to day management of the town; they are to go through the town administrator, not directly to the department heads, when they have a question or concern. Personnel matters, such as hiring, supervising, evaluating and terminating town employees is the domain of the town administrator, not the BOS. Likewise, the School Committee's responsibilities are spelled out by state statute under the Educational Reform Act of 1993--1) to hire, evaluate and terminate (when needed, based on a written performance evaluation) ONLY the superintendent; 2)to approve educational policy put forth by the superintendent; 3) to pass an operating budge for the schools. The School Committee, under Ed Reform of 1993, should not talki directly with administrators, faculty or staff about school related issues--all communication should go through the superintendent. No "end arounds" or "reaching down" by the SC outside the SC's role should occur as it is undermining to the system as a whole.
In either case the BOS and SC need to avail themselves,if they have not already, trainings on governance offered by the Mass Municipal Association and the Mass Association of School Committees.
Whether it is the BOS or the SC, it is imperative that they know and maintain their roles and not attempt to micromanage.