Mansfield Town Manager Resigns Due To Racist, Sexist Comments

MANSFIELD, CT — Mansfield's town manager has resigned following accusations of racist comments, according to FOX 61. A letter from department heads and the town council to the mayor details former town manager Derrik Kennedy's alleged racist and sexist comments, along with a litany of the other problems.

Dated, July 2, 2019, the letter states that the town's department heads have lost "all faith, confidence and trust in Mr. Kennedy and his ability to lead this organization as Town Manager."

The letter includes numerous allegations regarding Kennedy's inappropriate comments. One example includes Kennedy stating "I hate black people" following a meeting with an NAACP leader. The letter claims Kennedy made the remark while he was closing his office door to begin a meeting with a department head.

The letter also contains numerous inappropriate comments to female employees and department heads. Kennedy is alleged to have remarked to a female employee that the old Rapunzel at Walt Disney World was "hot" but new one wasn't and that "there has to be something for the dads, you know?" The letter states that he claimed in a meeting with a department head that her husband was more knowledgeable than most in a certain area "as most men are."

Kennedy is accused of making numerous disparaging comments about staff members, including calling them "idiots" and "ignorant."

WFSB went to Kennedy's home seeking a comment but reported that neighbors said he packed up his life and put his house for sale. He resigned with a salary of $148,000.

The department heads were also concerned about Kennedy making biased hiring decisions, particularly in the case of Assistant Town Manager Joshua Putnam, who previously worked with Kennedy in Westerly.

The letter states that Kennedy refrained from disciplining Putnam even after Putnam referred to a female department head as "a f**king b**ch" and "a f**king c**t."

Putnam resigned July 1 and Kennedy resigned two weeks later. In his resignation letter, he does not directly acknowledge the department heads' concerns, but does say that there were “gross mischaracterizations of conversations or complete mistruths and insults,” according to FOX 61.

John Carrington has served as the interim town manager as Mansfield seeks new candidate for the position.