ST. ALBANS — The St. Albans City Council voted on Monday to remove a member of a city committee meant to foster equity and inclusion who has repeatedly said the body is unnecessary.
Councilors voted 4-2 to remove Keith Longmore, a local business manager, from the Belonging, Equity and Inclusion committee, which he called “a fraud and an affront to the families of this city” at a meeting last month.
Across the committee’s first three monthly meetings this year, some other members have said that Longmore hinders their ability to work productively.
St. Albans City Manager Dominic Cloud presented a memo at Monday night’s council meeting, in which he and Mayor Tim Smith asked councilors to remove Longmore. They garnered support from Ward 1 Alderperson Timothy Hawkins; Marie Bessette, of Ward 3; Ward 4 Alderperson Mike McCarthy; and Chad Spooner, who represents Ward 6.
Ward 2 Alderperson Newell Decker and Ward 5 Alderperson Bob Farrar voted against the measure. They argued that Longmore, who has attended only one meeting so far, had not interacted with other members enough to warrant the case for his removal.
Longmore told VTDigger last month that he thought it was important he have a seat on the committee because its other members all “think alike,” adding he represented “the families of the city of St. Albans that don’t buy into the woke game.”
At the committee’s April meeting, Smith told members that he and the two city councilors who interviewed committee applicants knew that Longmore had opposing viewpoints to its seven other members, but felt “his contrasting opinions might bring something to the table,” according to meeting minutes.
Cloud has previously told VTDigger that the council felt by seating Longmore on the committee, they were being inclusive.
But the concerns of some other committee members, first reported by VTDigger, were echoed in Cloud and Smith’s memo to city councilors. Smith was not at the meeting.
The city manager and mayor wrote that Longmore has “repeatedly derided the mission and the need for the committee,” including by calling it “unnecessary” and “a hoax.”
They said they met with Longmore and asked him to resign his seat, but he refused. The council’s decision to remove Longmore took effect immediately on Monday. The committee’s monthly meeting is scheduled for Tuesday.
The committee’s charge includes organizing programs and events that highlight the city’s diversity; engaging people from diverse backgrounds in local government; and advising city officials on ways to demonstrate belonging, equity and inclusion.
But Cloud and Smith said in their memo that Longmore’s participation on the body “prevents those goals from being achieved.”
Longmore did not attend Monday’s meeting, though other committee members did.
In response to a message Monday night, Longmore said he was not aware the vote had happened and did not comment on the council’s decision.
McCarthy of Ward 4 said the city council appointed Longmore to the Belonging, Equity and Inclusion committee “in good faith,” but he has seen that Longmore has not been a constructive member so far.
“I’m really concerned that this committee won’t be able to function with somebody who has expressed a complete lack of faith in the machine,” McCarthy said.
In a letter to the editor that appeared in the Saint Albans Messenger last summer, Longmore contended that St. Albans was in the arms of a “wokeness brigade” and deemed the committee “unnecessary” a month before it was created.
He also said that as an African American, he had not experienced discrimation or felt unwelcome in the community.
At the committee’s May 10 meeting, Longmore questioned member Reier Erickson’s decision to read a statement saying that St. Albans is located on Indigenous peoples’ land. He also questioned why the committee members did not say the Pledge of Allegiance.
When asked to share his name and pronouns, he said, “Keith Longmore. American. MAGA. Make America great again. America first.”
Longmore later said at the May meeting that he disagreed with what he saw as an effort by some committee members to try and paint St. Albans residents as “blanket bigots and racists,” because the city’s population is largely white.
“They’re white people. They do white people things. I’m OK with that,” he said.
Farrar of Ward 5, who voted against removing Longmore from the committee, said that while Longmore had “not performed up to my expectations,” he thought the council should wait to consider removing Longmore until he had attended more meetings.
Decker of Ward 2 also said he felt Longmore should be given additional chances.
“Apparently, he’s not a cooperative individual,” Farrar said. “But I don’t think he’s been given enough time to do that.”
He said that councilors had “a spirited discussion” about Longmore’s removal in an executive session before the council meeting began.
Speaking in a public comment, St. Albans resident Jamie Pinkham disputed Farrar’s assessment, arguing Longmore’s presence on the committee was unfair to other members who have explicitly been interested in achieving its goals.
“One meeting is more than enough,” Pinkham said.