Groton — Democrat David Atwater has resigned from the Town Council, because he said he grew disillusioned with partisan politics here that stood in contrast with his experience as a selectman in Maine.

"It has been a privilege to serve the citizens of Groton to the best of my ability," Atwater wrote in his resignation letter, which Town Mayor Patrice Granatosky read aloud at Tuesday's Town Council Committee of the Whole meeting. Atwater's resignation was effective Sept. 15.

Atwater was elected to the all-Democratic Groton Town Council in 2017 after moving to Groton a few years ago. Prior to that, he served for six years as a selectman in Maine, where, he said in a phone interview, candidates ran for office because they were involved in the Rotary Club or the library board and didn't run as Democrats or Republicans. He said he was surprised how quickly he learned Groton is very partisan.

The 78-year-old said Groton is a great place to live, with three different libraries that serve as communities for kids and families, the town's proximity to the ocean and its open space.

"And so why do you have to get into this petty little 'he said, she said,' and that kind of thing?" he said, "and I found that really disturbing to me. I guess I just wasn't used to it when I was in Maine."

“I feel that the two parties are fighting too much and then I think in general, at least this council because it’s the only one I’ve worked with, we're not always promoting or thinking about what was best for the community,” he added. “A lot of it was their own special wishes or likes or whatever.”

Among the examples he cited, he said he disagreed with the Groton Town Council wanting to spend more money to use an organic alternative to the broad-spectrum glyphosate herbicide that the state and Amtrak use.

"Until you have better sense of its effects, it doesn't make sense to throw that much money at it," Atwater said. 

After receiving direction from the council last month to discontinue the use of glyphosate herbicide, the town is looking into an option to spray organic herbicide to control weeds around guardrails for an estimated cost of $15,000 per year, according to Town Manager John Burt. It currently costs about $4,000 per year for glyphosate.

Granatosky said Roundup is not a "partisan issue" or an "election issue," but a "health issue."

Atwater said that there's a tendency among some town councilors to blame state Sen. Heather Somers, R-Groton, for "all kinds of things," rather than talking about what's good for Groton.

Town Councilor and Democratic Town Committee Chairman Conrad Heede said he doesn't know that people blame Somers for anything, but ask questions, as they do of state representatives and the governor.

"I personally enjoyed the time I spent on the council with David," Heede said. "I felt like he often brought a calming voice to discussions."

Atwater also said it's not just Democrats going after Republicans, it's also Republicans going after Democrats. He said members of the Republican Town Committee took the Town Council to task for not taking a position on tolls. To him, he said, it's not a partisan issue, but it's a matter of needing to fix the roads and what is the best way to do it: is it tolls, bonding or a combination?

"You can't have this highway system or this bridge or whatever without paying for it, so when you start getting into 'oh it's your fault because you're not saying you're against tolls' or whatever, to me that's meaningless and yet they tried to make it a political issue," Atwater said.

Republican Town Committee Chairman Kenneth W. Richards III disagreed that tolls aren't a political issue. He said that in theory, Connecticut residents would pay about 60 percent of the tolls, while out-of-state drivers would pay only a maximum of 40 percent. He said if the state is trying to promote business and boost the economy, it shouldn't be looking for new ways to find money from residents.

Atwater said the "final straw" in his decision to resign from the Town Council was a proposed change to the rules for council meetings. 

Currently, the rules allow councilors to ask for clarification while residents are speaking during citizen's petitions. After all the speakers are finished, the councilors are given a period to respond and ask other questions.

The proposed change says councilors would have to hold all their questions until after people finish speaking.

Atwater took issue with the proposed change. In cases of well-attended meetings, like one earlier this year on the Noank School Public Gardens, a councilor could have to wait for about 30 people to finish speaking just to ask the first speaker to clarify something.

The Council's Rules and Procedures Committee approved the change last month with two in favor, and one abstention, and the Town Council will vote on the change on Tuesday.

Granatosky said that when residents come to speak, they should have a full five uninterrupted minutes to speak and, as it has traditionally been done, councilors then can respond and ask questions during the response portion. She said if people are interrupted when speaking, it can become a debate, which isn't conducive to people speaking comfortably in public and could even deter them from speaking.

She thanked Atwater for his service.

"He served well for the town," Granatosky said. "He joined the Democratic Party and wanted to run with our team, and he provided some excellent service to the people in Groton. I'm sorry he feels the way he does. I respectfully disagree with his take on things. We have worked diligently for the benefit of the whole town in the things we have done and we have not been partisan in our actions. We have worked for everybody."

Town Councilor Aundré Bumgardner thanked Atwater for his service and said the council's strength is in its diversity of ideas and Atwater brought a lot of different ideas to the council. He said he had a lot of common ground with Atwater in ensuring fiscal responsibility, particularly as the town builds new schools.

"Our council represents a diverse cross-section in town and deliberated on a multitude of issues that impact Groton," he said, "and despite the fact that we're all Democrats, we all care about different issues in town and I think we've done a great job."

Heede said that while the councilors at times disagreed, at the end of the day, they still got together and everything worked out on a personal level. He said that not everybody agrees on things — it doesn't matter what party they belong to.

"That's a normal part of the process," Heede said.

New councilor

The Town Council voted at Tuesday's Committee of the Whole meeting to appoint Representative Town Meeting member Portia Bordelon to fill the remainder of Atwater's term. The vote will need to be finalized at the next Town Council meeting on Oct. 1.

Bordelon, 39, a longtime Groton resident who works as a medical assistant at an ambulatory surgical center and is a mother of two, is expected to officially be appointed to the council next Tuesday.

She said being a district representative is so important to the community so she's sad to move off the RTM but is excited for the opportunity to be involved in a different level of government. She also is a Democratic candidate for Town Council in the November election.

"As a former graduate of Groton Public Schools and a current mother of two children who I'm raising in the same community, I'm very passionate about my community and I just feel it’s the right thing to do," Bordelon said of why she wanted to join the council. "I'm a firm believer in transparency and accountability and making sure that there’s proper communication in local government. I’m passionate about making sure all districts are appropriately or accurately represented."

Heede said he is very excited to welcome Bordelon onto the Council and noted she has been one of the Democratic Town Committee's newest and also most active members, serving on the RTM and as liaison to the Board of Education and council.

"Her energy, enthusiasm and confidence will be a great asset to this council and the next as we continue to try to change the status quo, embrace change and move Groton in a new direction," he added.

"She's an amazing person and I know she will do great things on the Council," Bumgardner said.

With Atwater not running for Town Council in the November election, Heede, who previously had said he would step aside to let new candidates run, will seek another term.

k.drelich@theday.com