Quigley Draws Fire Over Comments

Councilwoman Theresa Quigley found herself in the cross-hairs at on Thursday night as residents and fellow government officers accused her of inappropriate behavior. 

Quigley's March 1 comments about a group of Springs homeowners has drawn the ire of some. Quigley is overheard as saying, on the LTV tape as the room cleared, "This is Nazis. This is disgusting." She was having a private aside with Councilman Peter Van Scoyoc, following public comments on the illegal housing issue.

Fred Weinberg of Springs said her comments were appalling and denigrating and asked for an apology, though Quigley did not respond.

Weinberg went so far as to demand her resignation.

But Quigley was also grilled about comments she had made about Director Marguerite Wolffsohn, who had written the entire town board on March 8, chastising Quigley for characterizing her at a public meeting two days earlier as disrespectful. That quarrel centered around an email exchange between Quigley and Wolffsohn where the councilwoman said she received "crazy information" from the planning director.

"Her comments may have been due to a misunderstanding, but I feel that they were inappropriate," Wolffshon said, adding that it was "damaging to my professional reputation and my ability to carry out my duties as a town department head."

She felt the email exchange should have been discussed in executive session, where personnel matters are typically discussed, and not aired in public.

Quigley, who has been the liaison to the planning department since being elected on the Republican ticket two years ago, said she wouldn't apologize and accused Democratic Councilman Peter Van Scoyacs of politicizing the issue.

Van Scoyac said he didn't ask for an apology, but rather that he wanted to go on record that he had read the email exchange, provided by Wolffsohn with the letter to the town board last week. Van Scoyac then said he saw nothing unprofessional in the email, and Democratic Councilwoman Sylvia Overby agreed.

"I'd like to just put this whole thing behind us," Van Scoyoc said.

Supervisor Bill Wilkinson, however, found the whole discussion Thursday night to be absurd.

"You've got to be kidding me. This thing was dead in the water before you brought it up," Supervisor Bill Wilkinson said. "This is pure ridiculousness."

He defended Quigley, saying that felt the tone of the email was insubordinate. One year ago, Wilkinson sent .

"I think it's really hard to divine tone in an email," Overby said.

Quigley had not wanted to circulate the email when Overby asked to see it at a March 6 work session.

A video of the work session is available through .