Medford Gets Outside Help For Veterans Services Work

MEDFORD, MA — Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn's administration has retained the help of the veterans' agent in Wilmington while Veterans Services Director Michael Durham is on leave.

Requests for veterans' benefits will be referred through Medford to Louis Cimaglia, or residents can contact Wilmington directly to request benefits and other assistance, Jackie Piques, the mayor's spokesperson, said.

The administration is also working directly with the Massachusetts Department of Veterans' Services to ensure benefits requests are processed quickly. Veterans will receive their checks as normal, and new veterans will be processed and receive their checks accordingly, Piques added.

"The mayor's office will continue to be directly involved in the daily operations and support services and will make any adjustments to our arrangement that may be needed," she said. "Our number one priority is to ensure that all veterans are provided the support that they need."

Meanwhile, the city council is formally calling on the mayor's office to reinstate Durham, who was placed on administrative leave earlier this month pending a psychological evaluation. The 7-0 vote on Tuesday followed a series of meetings where councilors voiced their anger and frustration over what they considered to be a lack of transparency about Durham's dismissal.

The council held an emergency meeting Saturday, where they invited a representative from the mayor's administration to answer questions about operations at the Veterans Services Department in Durham's absence. Councilors were irate when no one showed up.

"This administration does not take this issue seriously, or else someone would've been at that podium today," Councilor John Falco said.

The council requested more information from the administration about Veterans Services coverage in the interim, such as how many hours that person will work for Medford and how they will be paid.

It also hit back against the idea of regionalizing veterans affairs, something that smaller towns like Wilmington and Tewksbury have done. City Council President Richard Caraviello pointed out that in the mayor's communications with him, she did not indicate that was her plan.

Councilor Adam Knight said the removal of Durham, who had filed hostile work environment and discrimination complaints against the city, "smacks of retaliation at the expense of our veteran population." An independent investigation into Durham's claims found no wrongdoing on the part of the administration.

"For a long time I sat next to the mayor right here, and I heard her bang the table and talk about, how come the council doesn't have a voice, how come the council's not involved?" Knight said. "Well, it's the same old song and dance, with a different lead singer."

Councilors and residents who spoke at Saturday's meeting said access to veteran services had improved under Durham's leadership. They worried it could take a step back without him at the helm.

"Are we going to go back to the Stone Ages, or are we going to go forward to the process and the progress that Michael Durham has made?" Edward Linehan, a Department of Public Works employee and U.S. Navy veteran, said.

Veterans in need of support can call the Medford Department of Veterans Services at 781-393-2505, email dwhite@medford-ma.gov, call the Wilmington Veterans Department at 978-694-2040 or email Louis Cimaglia at lcimaglia@wilmingtonma.gov.