Mansfield Town Councilor Brian Coleman introduced a resolution to terminate Town Manager Ryan Aylesworth after Aylesworth accidentally sent Coleman a text exchange about Coleman in which Aylesworth wrote “under our town charter, I’m pretty sure the town manager is authorized to bust the kneecaps of any resident who creeps on the Library Director.”
The text message was meant for Library Director Devon Andrews, with Aylesworth asking Andrews to “let me know ASAP if Brian Coleman does anything creepy or makes you uncomfortable,” and that he has “an obligation to keep my staff safe at all times,” before leading into the “busting kneecaps” comment.
Upon realizing that he’d sent the text to Coleman, Aylesworth immediately followed up, writing, “I see that a message I had intended to send Devon in jest was inadvertently sent to you. For that I sincerely apologize.”
Coleman, however, felt the text was not in jest and was impugning his character, alluding to him as a creep. “He carried it much too far, it’s trying to take my credibility down,” Coleman said in an interview. “To refer to me as a creep is defaming my character.”
Coleman says that he was not harassing or bothering Andrews but was instead trying to meet with her to discuss donating money to the library.
“What happened was I complimented the library director on her work,” Coleman said. “And then I wrote the library director and said I wanted to make a cash donation to the library and then that came out that same Friday.”
Coleman provided an email he sent to Andrews requesting a meeting to discuss a cash donation to the library. Reached for comment, Andrews would only say that she is happy to be working for the town of Mansfield and referred CII to Aylesworth’s statement before the town council during a February 26 meeting.
One resident spoke of the text exchange during public comment saying it was “not only inappropriate but also potentially illegal,” before Aylesworth and the town council addressed the issue.
Aylesworth, whose young son is recovering from a serious skiing accident, used part of his time before the town council to apologize, saying he was trying to assure a town employee that he took safety and security seriously and hoped to garner a “lighthearted laugh.”
“Although my intentions were benevolent and I believe the intended recipient would have recognized the inherently jesting nature of the concluding remark, I acknowledge that it was not appropriate, even as a joke. I sincerely regret sending a note containing what I now realize was a misguided attempt at humor and language that could potentially be misinterpreted.”
“A town councilor should never be the butt of a joke in a communication with your professional staff,” Coleman said in the meeting. “I cannot accept your apology. It is unacceptable completely. An indefensible move by the town manager.”
Coleman then made a motion to remove Aylesworth as town manager for a threat of bodily harm made on a town owned device, and for issues regarding hearing accommodations for Coleman at town meetings for which he has filed a complaint against the town with the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO).
The motion failed when it was not seconded by any other council members. Mansfield Mayor Antonia Moran took time to address the issue and say that she and the rest of the Council recognized Aylesworth’s apology, but that his mistake did not rise to the level of removal.
“We know, and Mr. Aylesworth knows, that he made a serious error of judgment in writing a message to a subordinate that could be construed to disparage an elected official, a member of this council,” Moran said. “Mr. Coleman is right to be angry. The fact that the message was mistakenly sent to Mr. Coleman is irrelevant because it shouldn’t have been sent.”
“However, we believe that Mr. Aylesworth has made a serious apology and that he fully recognizes his error,” Moran continued. “We believe that Mr. Aylesworth’s email, far from threatening, was intended to light-heartedly respond to concerns as we expect him to.”
Moran and other council members said they believed Aylesworth’s comments were not serious, that he has learned from his mistake, and that they hoped the town council, Coleman and Aylesworth can move past these ongoing issues.
“If you’ve read our packet, you know that Mr. Coleman has accused the town manager of many things, legal and illegal, none of which we believe to be true,” Moran said. “I believe Mr. Coleman has also been in error, both in the substance and the manner in which he has made them. We have serious business as councilmembers, and I really hope we can put this behind us and move on.”
“You’re not the one that has to walk into a business that vicious rumors about you are around,” Coleman responded. “You’re not the one who has to walk into the local library and wonder if somebody is going to feel like a creep.”
“This is not the end of the story,” Coleman said. “You destroyed my f**cking character!”
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