Select Board Member’s Social Post Sparks Community Debate

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HANOVER – A Facebook post shared by Select Board member Vanessa O’Connor set off heated debate in town and online, drawing a standing-room-only crowd to Monday night’s Select Board meeting.

The controversy began when O’Connor shared a post on her personal Facebook page responding to the assassination of Charlie Kirk. It denounced Kirk’s ideology, referred to him as a Nazi, and said in part, “There is no hate like Christian love.” A connection of O’Connor’s subsequently screenshotted the post and shared it to the Hanover Connect Facebook group. 

The issue gained traction online last week, with O’Connor’s critics sharing it widely across online pages. In response, the Select Board met in executive session on Friday, September 19. Executive sessions are not open to the public. O’Connor said in a statement that she did not attend the meeting. 

Over the course of the weekend, the online firestorm grew. At least three local residents created dozens of Facebook posts in groups across Massachusetts that shared a screenshot of O’Connor’s comments and urged people to attend the regular meeting of Hanover’s Select Board on Monday, September 22. 

Ahead of the meeting, many Hanover residents also received an automated text message asking them to attend the meeting. It read, “We’ll be calling for Selectwoman Vanessa O’Connor to be held accountable and publicly apologize for spreading anti-Christian hate.” The sending number of the text message was associated with previous robocalls from the Massachusetts Republican Party. The party did not respond to a request for comment on this article. This would not be the first time the state party has waded into town politics. In May, they sent mailers targeting then-Select Board candidate Rachel Hughes.

At Monday’s meeting, Chair Rhonda Nyman read a statement prepared by the board. She then opened the floor to 90 minutes of public comment, during which residents lined up for their allotted three minutes. Applause and booing punctuated several speakers’ remarks, prompting repeated reminders from Nyman to keep order. 

“I love this town, I really do. It's a great town, and I was kind of hurt by that post, specifically, the part that said there's no hate like Christian love,” said Eric Grund. “People are hurt here in town because of this, and if you can't see that, I dunno what to say.” 

Some residents demanded that O’Connor resign or apologize, arguing that her post disparaged Hanover’s Christian community and damaged their trust in her leadership. Others framed their comments around the First Amendment. Several pointed out that free speech does not protect public officials from consequences, while others defended O’Connor’s right to express personal views. Overall, the room was split between supporters of O’Connor and those who were outraged by her comments. 

“When you hold elected office, your words set a tone for the community. Hanover deserves leaders who show that disagreement is not dehumanization and that compassion is never partisan,” said Andrew Fisher. “We don't have to agree with someone's politics to agree that every life has value; mocking grief is not leadership.”

Supporters highlighted O’Connor’s years of community service and denounced what they described as racially and misogynistically charged attacks against her.

“What I find most offensive about what happened in these attacks, the personal attacks on Vanessa, is the way people have gone after her and called her employer and have attacked her and what her family is,” said resident Dan Mantell. “We know Vanessa’s integrity is high and that she is a good, solid, wonderful person. And those attacks are not what we are here in Hanover.”

Breaking from meeting custom, O’Connor addressed the room at the close of public comment. Reading from a prepared statement, she said, “I shared someone else’s quote because it resonated deeply with my own experience and feelings during a difficult moment. I did not do so as a Select Board member or on behalf of my employer and, in hindsight, I probably would have used my own words to better articulate my nuanced feelings. Regardless of all that, ultimately, a friend violated my privacy and now that something I own sharing was amplified, I want to provide some clarity.”

She added, “The quote I shared rejected White Christian Nationalist sympathy and condemned a bigot who cloaked hatred in religious language - it did not condemn people of faith.”

O’Connor also said, “After several thoughtful discussions with residents in the last week, I now understand that some people read the post and believed it to be a broad indictment of religion. That was not my intent and I apologize to anyone who understood it that way.”

She described the bullying and threats she received in the wake of the controversy. The South Shore Times is not publishing the contents of those messages because many contained racist and inappropriate language.

The Select Board took no formal action on the matter.