Hope and change? Not this kind!

“Hope and change†was the sweet-sounding mantra of President Obama while he was trying to exploit unhappiness with George W. Bush and the GOP during last year’s presidential campaign.

Obama has delivered little of either. And neither, I suspect, will the Salisbury Planning and Zoning Commission, unless it’s a “change†for the worse.

Jonathan Higgins, who has chaired the commission ably for the last 16 years, was blindsided at a Dec. 1 meeting by a trio of commissioners who voted to dethrone him from his chair with almost no explanation (see story, Page A3).

Full disclosure: I covered the P&Z for almost four years as a reporter for this newspaper and was an unsuccessful candidate for a seat on the commission this fall. I also like Jon and his wife. So take my thoughts for what they are worth.

After some routine business that included approving minutes, commission member Dan Dwyer nominated Cristin Rich, seconded by fellow commission member Michael Klemens, for the post of chair — an action that appeared to stun Higgins.

In an apparent effort to placate Higgins, Rich insisted her willingness to assume the chair was “not a comment on anyone’s ability.†But if Higgins’ performance did not motivate Rich, then what did? She did not say. None of the three who voted to install Rich ever addressed that subject even after Higgins asked if there was any additional comment on the motion to unseat him. Later, Dwyer successfully nominated Klemens to be vice chair.

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What is going on here? I suspect the episode says less about party affiliation (the trio who voted to depose Higgins are Democrats; he is a Republican) than it says about philosophical disagreement. Tensions have been building most recently, for example, over the case of Dario Ceppi, who has frustrated the P&Z with his questionable clearing of land and blasting of rock in the upscale Belgo Road neighborhood.

And there have been other cases that have aroused passions in the last few years: Nonkin; Hochberg; Deano’s Pizza. Oh, and don’t forget that the commission sued the town’s own Zoning Board of Appeals in 2005 over an after-the-fact variance the ZBA granted for a fancy home renovation project that was built too close to Lakeville Lake.

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After his demotion, Higgins had some strong words for his detractors: “I’m quite surprised by this. It’s clear that discussions have taken place outside of the meeting. I find that horribly distasteful.â€

Dwyer conceded he may have communicated with others outside the meeting “as a courtesy.â€

“That’s what we do in a meeting,†Higgins snapped back.

Indeed, if a group of municipal board members gathers informally outside a meeting, then the gathering could constitute an illegal meeting if a quorum is present.

Let me be clear: Unless they violated Connecticut’s Freedom of Information open meeting laws, the trio did nothing that was technically improper. But if they want to replace the longtime chairman, I believe they owe him — and the voters who elected them — an explanation for their actions. Let us “hope†this “change†of leadership on Salisbury’s Planning and Zoning Commission isn’t ushering in a new era of secrecy.

“I used to have respect for you and that respect is diminished,†Higgins told the three. “This is not good.â€

Try as I might, it’s hard to disagree with that statement.

Lakeville resident Terry Cowgill is a former editor and senior writer at The Lakeville Journal Company. He can be reached at terrycowgill@gmail.com.