Glassman said she will not sue the town over the issue.
Simsbury's First Selectman, Democrat Mary Glassman, said she was blind-sided by the Republican-controlled Board of Selectmen's decision last week to cut her salary by 35 percent effective in July.
On Monday, Glassman announced her resignation, effective January 2.
Speaking on WNPR's Where We Live, Glassman said the board's decision to cut her salary was personally and politically motivated. "We think cutting the salary mid-term is wrong," said Glassman, "because it can be perceived exactly for what it is being perceived as political, personal, abuse of power, misuse of public trust, it's wrong."
Republicans on the board deny the pay cut was a political move, citing the recommendations of a consultant commissioned by Glassman. The consultant recommended shifting some of the first selectman's job responsibilities to other positions, and cutting the first selectman's pay starting in November 2015, after the elections, not in the middle of Glassman's term. Glassman and the Board of Selectmen approved the recommendations.
Glassman described the premature salary cut as "illegal," but said she will not sue the town over the issue. "I could have fought them, but that's not right," she said. "It's not right for me; it's not right for my family personally; and I can do other things, but it's just not in my composition."
Listen below to the segment with Glassman on Where We Live:
Glassman has been Simsbury's First Selectman for a total of 16 years. Simsbury's town charter states that another Democrat must be chosen to take her place within 30 days.
