City Councilor Patten Censured

The Concord City Council voted unanimously on March 12 to censure Ward 8 City Councilor after declaring that his  about a traffic ticket issued to a friend was inappropriate but did not rise to the level of dismissal.

At-large City Councilor explained to the council that after the incident was reported, it was referred to which held a meeting last week to discuss the matter and come to a recommendation on what to do. He said after discussing the issue, the committee realized that the only options it had were to either remove Patten as councilor or not do anything at all, based on the charter. St. Hilaire said the incident did not rise to the level of removal. So the committee was recommending a written reprimand, with a requirement that Patten meet with the city solicitor and be given a copy of the rules and charter to study.

Patten, who was red-faced and physically shaking during most of the censure process, apologized for his actions and “bad judgment” and said, “the last thing I would ever want to do is to hurt or threaten anyone.” He commended the and Christian Lovejoy, the officer he spoke to about the traffic ticket, as “consummate professionals,” adding that he knew they were since he worked in the department for more than three decades.

“I know it was my bad judgment that caused Officer Lovejoy, the city council, and the people of Concord to question my ethics, morality and my commitment to the city,” he said. “As President John Kennedy once said, an error doesn’t become a mistake until you refuse to correct it. I look forward to working with all of you to correct this and can assure you that nothing like this will ever happen again.”

Ward 4 Councilor called it “unfortunate that so many people are overly cynical about their elected officials and the political process” but noted that when incidents like this happen, “I’m not sure we can blame them.” She commended the police department for “stepping forward and doing the right thing” and said city employees deserved better treatment. Grady had previously called on Patten to resign but did not raise the resignation issue during the censure proceedings.

Mayor said that despite what many people had written in letters or comments online, the issue at hand was not whether or not Patten was “a nice guy.”

“Tonight is far more important … far more important,” he said. “And it may be the most important issue that I have dealt with since I was honored with the privilege of being elected to this council 15 years ago.”

Bouley said, as councilors, elected officials had been bestowed a trust for the public good and must be held to the highest standard, acting with integrity. Patten’s actions – not to help a constituent but to help a close, personal friend – had eroded that trust, he said. Bouley added that he was disappointed in public comments Patten made about not understanding the city charter and not realizing sometimes that he was a public official, “were unacceptable and unbecoming” of a city councilor.

“I want the community to know that these actions are by an individual councilor and should not be reflected on this city council,” he said. “This is my 15th year. We have all gotten, at one time or another, constituent requests. I think we all understand what the protocol is and how to function within the city government, and not to intimidate.”

After City Clerk read the entire two-page censure resolution into the record, the council voted by voice vote to approve the resolution.

After the meeting ended, some colleagues from the , where Patten serves as a state representative, as well as Ward 8 constituents, greeted the beleaguered councilor and offered moral support. Patten seemed relieved that the matter was over but did not offer any further comment.