Colchester ― The Republican Town Committee passed a vote of no confidence in Republican First Selectman Andreas Bisbikos on Tuesday after members accused him of bullying residents and personally attacking them on social media.

Town committee leaders characterized the vote as a break from what they called the Republican tribalism that is running through the party nationally.

“You may be asking yourselves what is it that could possibly be dividing us in a time where we should be working together?” town committee chair Taras Rudko wrote in a statement. “The answer in my mind is tribalism. It is the idea that our team can do no wrong. It is supporting bad behavior, whether that be unethical, deceitful, nontransparent, or the abuse of power.”

Jason LaChapelle, the vice chair of the RTC and a member of the Board of Selectmen, said the vote is a symbolic one. It indicates that the RTC may not endorse Bisbikos in the next election. His term ends in 2023.

Rudko in his statement said the vote against Bisbikos is due to his treatment of citizens and that he bullies those who disagree with him. The RTC took exception to Bisbikos’s leadership during the budget process. Rudko accused Bisbikos, among other things, of artificially increasing revenue projections.

Rudko also criticized Bisbikos for what he did in June when he asked that the town’s public library to remove a book about American entertainer and drag queen RuPaul, claiming it contained a sexually provocative image, causing a small national controversy.

“We as not only Americans, but as Republicans have always stood hard and fast in the defense of the First Amendment,” Rudko wrote in his statement. “An issue of this nature, having been identified by any mature individual, would not have resulted in a unilateral act. There is a process in place for things of this nature and that process should have been entrusting the Library Director from the onset to handle this complaint and address it accordingly.”

Bisbikos denied all of the claims from Rudko and the RTC, and in June, he defended himself following the library scandal.

Bisbikos said the no-confidence vote was taken for personal reasons, and that if all of the committee members were present, he would’ve won the vote.

“A lot of people were not there, a lot of people were on vacation. If the entire committee was there, I would handily have the endorsement and support of the RTC,” Bisbikos said. “You didn’t have a full house, you took advantage of a situation so you can run to reporters and say, ‘Oh look, the RTC has voted against the first selectman in the town of Colchester.’ ”

Rudko challenged this assertion, saying that 25 people, who voted no confidence 15-10, represents a good turnout for an RTC that on its best days will get 30-35 people at its meetings.

Bisbikos and Rudko were political allies during last year’s election. But Rudko said Bisbikos stopped listening to anyone, including his fellow party members, when he took office, and Bisbikos said Rudko was trying to control him and make him his “puppet.”

Rudko’s wife Marli Rudko was once Bisbikos’s executive assistant. Bisbikos said she “did not do a very good job for our town, and I had to terminate her.” He said he believes that was partly the impetus for his no-confidence vote.

Taras Rudko said his wife was fired because she was making a complaint to Human Resources about Bisbikos. Marli Rudko backed up that claim in May and has said she intends to sue for wrongful termination.

“The problem is these guys have been putting out false information to try to rally the town against me, against others, and they think this political or character assassination is going to do them favors, but the reality is it’s hurting our community,” Bisbikos said.

Rudko and Republican Board of Selectman member Jason LaChappelle said the main reason for the no-confidence vote is Bisbikos’s “behavior and personal attacks on members of the public and fellow board members.”

“A large number of citizens have told me that they won't speak during citizen comments anymore because they fear his retribution if they don't agree 100% with him,” LaChapelle said.

Democratic Selectwoman Rosemary Coyle, along with LaChapelle, Republican Selectwoman Deborah Bates and Democratic Selectwoman Denise Turner, signed a letter last week saying, “We want the First Selectman to stop using board meetings and social media to attack, threaten and belittle elected officials, and, worse, private citizens.”

Coyle did not take a side in the no-confidence vote.

“We have so many more issues. We don’t have a town planner. We don’t have a director of public works. We don’t have an HR person. We don’t have a budget,” she said.

But she was critical of Bisbikos’s confrontations with members of the public and town officials.

“He’s attacked me twice now on Facebook,” she said. “If he doesn’t agree with what someone said in public comment, he gets very defensive. Public comment is not supposed to be a dialogue. It’s supposed to be an opportunity for us to listen to the public … Sometimes there’s back and forth and it’s very unpleasant.”

Turner also commented on the Republican rift.

“I think it says a lot when the people that worked alongside of you to get you elected into office, are the same people, that in less than one year’s time, pass a vote of no confidence against you,” Turner wrote in an email.

Bisbikos pushed back on the framing of the vote of no confidence as moderates tempering tribalism, saying that Rudko is a Three Percenter.

Three Percenters fall within “the larger anti-government militia movement” and “claim that only 3% of American colonists fought against the British during the American Revolution, a claim that has never been proven,” according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

“They’re the extreme wing of the party. They like to deal in conspiracies and crazy things. I’m a conservative, yeah, but I don’t play into these weird conspiracies,” Bisbikos said.

Rudko faced backlash recently for his support for the group. In the wake of that backlash, he did not back away from his support, saying that he will continue wearing a Three Percenter patch on his arm.

“That logo stands for American Patriotism, the educated voter, the ever-vigilant defender of the Constitution and the watchful eye of the American Patriots defending against tyranny,” he said in a statement.

Bisbikos said at the RTC’s next meeting in October, he expects a bigger crowd, “and that larger crowd is going to side with me.”

“I think right now I just need to focus on doing good things for the town of Colchester,” he said. “I need to clear out some of this noise.”

s.spinella@theday.com