I guess it should come as no surprise that Groton Democrats are dysfunctional, a party that can’t even use its robust majority to run a simple meeting without chaos and rancor.

City Democrats, after all, have a chairman who was an early public supporter of Donald Trump. In general, it seems a lot of the Groton Democrats in charge must have been AWOL when the party loyalty instruction booklets were handed out.

The local party establishment seems to do all it can to frustrate and compromise two of its highest vote getters, Aundre Bumgardner and Portia Bordelon, both persons of color.

One excellent example of the party’s schism was a raucus Town Council meeting back in March, which, unbeknownst to most people, until now, resulted in Democratic Councilor Rachel Franco filing a complaint with police because Aundre Bumgardner tried to speak with her during a council recess.

More later on the absurd complaint — even Franco admits no crime was committed — but it is interesting that it only surfaced publicly all these months later because it was requested from police by Groton Republican Town Committee Chairman John Scott.

It then turned up in a no-byline news story on a new right-wing Connecticut online publication, one featuring stories about the dangers of vaccines and claims that Gov. Ned Lamont is creating “abortion tourism” in the state.

The story, which links to the police report obtained by GOP Chairman Scott, who is also the campaign treasurer for Bumgardner’s Republican opponent, Robert Boris, in the 41st District race, is a total smear and makes no attempt to give Bumgardner’s side of the events.

Indeed, when I caught up with Bumgardner this week he told me the first he ever learned that Franco had gone to police to complain about him was when the town manager emailed him this month to say that Scott was requesting the report from police.

I wonder how Scott learned about the Bumgardner incident.

I’m also curious about his recent demand of the town manager that a librarian he said read to students from a book about librarian drag queens be disciplined or fired.

The town manager wrote back and told him, essentially, to chill.

It’s sad to see a local Republican chairman drawing on the worst of the national party’s inclination toward culture wars here.

Both Groton parties should find new leaders.

I went back and watched the video of the meeting that led to Franco’s complaint and I can understand why Bumgardner was frustrated and wanted to talk about her interrupting his remarks about data center plans, which he voted against and she voted for.

Franco told police he yelled at her and kept speaking with her when she asked him to stop. She told me in an email she reported it to police because politicians don’t have a human resources department they can turn to.

It could not have been that disruptive since it was in a crowded room during a recess and captured on film. Bumgardner strikes me as always polite and measured.

I would say Franco should give up public service if she can’t explain to another councilor, when asked during a recess, why she interrupted him during an open session. Even if he did raise his voice — and I question that — she could have engaged with a fellow Democratic councilor and tried to find a calm way forward.

And she should know police have better things to do than referee Town Council meetings.

This is the opinion of David Collins

d.collins@theday.com