ORANGE — The Selectboard voted Wednesday not to return the town-used oath of office to its former wording.
Longtime resident Ann Reed mentioned that references to the state and U.S. constitutions have been removed from the oath that elected officials swear to before they can sit on their respective boards and committees. She said she is disturbed by the omission, though she acknowledged that Town Clerk Rachael Fortier assured her all officials must abide by the state and federal constitutions.
“It’s a new normal. It’s born of trend; it’s not born of tradition,” Reed said on Wednesday. “And that’s kind of my concern, that the decision was made to remove it.”
Vice Chair Julie Davis, who chaired the meeting in Tom Smith’s absence, and member Jane Peirce opted in favor of maintaining the current wording, while member Mike Bates voted against the motion. Clerk Andrew Smith was also absent on Wednesday.
According to Fortier, the oath the town currently uses reads: “Do you solemnly swear that you will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform the duties incumbent upon you as a (member of board/commission/title of position) in accordance with the bylaws of the town and laws of the commonwealth.”
Reed referred to this as a “kind of vanilla new oath.” She also stressed, however, that she does not think the references to the constitutions were removed out of malice or ill intent.
Davis said Fortier’s research revealed that 12 of the 43 cities and towns she surveyed have oaths of office that reference the state and U.S. constitutions. But Reed said, “Rachael’s under no obligation to look at a trend and feel she’s beholden to … a wider commonwealth trend.”
Nancy Blackmer, who retired as town clerk on June 30, was in the audience on Wednesday and stepped up to say that the current oath has been used by the town since before she started working in Town Hall in 1999.
“It’s nothing that was removed recently,” Blackmer told Selectboard members. “Other towns do use the same one.”
Though Blackmer said she believes the current oath has been used for 50 to 60 years, Reed argued that she took elected office “much more recently than that” and she remembers swearing to uphold the constitutions. Reed said she feels the oath’s wording “has lost something” without the constitutions being referenced.
Reed said her oath was administered by Shirley Page, Blackmer’s predecessor. But Blackmer said the wording used now is the same used by Page.
Bates said he was not opposed to reinserting the constitutional references, but he wanted to wait for a meeting with all members present.
Davis said she feels the oath she took contains “a very broad and intense amount of responsibilities.”
“I’m not in a rush to rework wording right now,” she said. “I feel there’s a lot of other things that we have to focus on.”
Voters at a Special Town Meeting a year ago adopted a warrant article requiring all elected and appointed town officials to take the oath of office within 60 days of their appointment, or forfeit their position. This applies to anytime someone is elected, appointed, reelected or reappointed.
This article was the result of a concern brought to the Selectboard’s attention by Blackmer, who had explained there had been instances in which people — especially those being reelected or reappointed — didn’t visit Town Hall to be sworn in to a new term.