Select Board vice chair Mary Jo LaFreniere was arraigned Monday in Framingham District Court on a charge of driving under the influence. She was arrested after leaving TJ’s Food and Spirits, a bar on the Hopkinton-Ashland line, Sunday night.
“It happened,” LaFreniere said in an interview with the Independent Monday night. “That’s it. I went to court earlier today, and I will have a hearing in February.”
LaFreniere was dining at the local pub after attending a wake, she explained.
“I was very professional,” she added. “The police were very professional.”
When asked if there would be any effect on her role as Select Board vice chair, she expressed some uncertainty.
“I’m really not sure what will happen,” said LaFreniere. “We will find out at the meeting Tuesday night.”
She added that she had not decided as of Monday night whether she would appear in person or via Zoom.
“I only have five months left on the Select Board, ever,” she continued, noting that she will not seek reelection in May.
Select Board chair Brian Herr commented on Monday night that it is “a really unfortunate situation” for the vice chair.
“Obviously Mary Jo will have to make decisions based on what she needs to address in her life,” he said. “We are all elected individually, and we are public officials who are judged on what we do.
“I think the police did their job — as they always do — regardless of who the person is,” Herr continued. “I was also really pleased that nobody got hurt and that nothing more dangerous happened to Mary Jo or to anyone else.”
He did not comment as to if or how her position on the Select Board would be affected.
“It’s a tough situation,” said Herr. “But the board has a lot on its plate and a lot of important issues that we are dealing with. The board has to press on.”
The town released a statement Monday night.
“On Monday, December 16, the Town was made aware of the arrest of Hopkinton Select Board Member Mary Jo LaFreniere on charges of Operating Under the Influence,” the statement confirmed. “She was arraigned Monday in Framingham District Court. The Town is unable to comment further at this time as this is an active court case.”
Could not have happened to a better person! She seemed inebriated during the Loudermill hearings. GOOD RIDDANCE!
‘Showtime’s’ comment saddens me. Hopkinton is not the town it used to be. This ‘kick her when she’s down’ is really unsettling.
Get help before you kill someone.
That’s it! Hopkinton needs to become dry!
No more alcohol for anyone. We need to protect everyone from the scourge of intoxicating substances.
I nominate Mary-Jo and Hopkinton Organizing for Prevention to use the social host laws to prevent anyone else from every suffering the terrible effects of substances.
To Showtime – your comment is just plain not nice. She has devoted her time for many years to make Hopkinton a better place. Ease up on people. Everyone has something in their lives that they’re not proud and/or made mistakes during a tough time. Look in your own mirror. Kindness and compassion go far. Let’s uplevel the emotional environment in Hopkinton and not have comments that kick people when they are down.
This article should clarify that she was involved in an accident, rather than simply stating that she was arrested while leaving TJs. She crashed her car, which posed a risk of harming others. She had been drinking throughout the evening. While everyone makes mistakes, as a selectboard member, she should have known better and acted responsibly. There is a higher standard of conduct expected in her position
Funny how the crashing the car part was left out of the article. Also nothing about this on HopNews. Yes Melody we all make mistakes but drinking and driving in today’s day and age when there is Uber, Lyft, or friends and family to come and get you, is not acceptable. There are still far too many deaths caused by impaired drivers.
I agree. I didn’t realize there was an accident and of course that’s extremely serious. Even so, there’s a way of saying something to someone who messed up big time and Showtime’s approach surprised me and not in a good way. Saying GOOD RIDDANCE and it couldn’t have happened to a better person seems out of line to me and vindictively below the belt. Anyway, you are right about a lot of what you said as is Hopkinton Resident. I am pretty sure this will be a wake up call and I’m relieved no one got hurt physically or killed. And I agree. Where is Hopnews? I miss the investigative reporting that Peter did and in-depth stories. But good for Hopkinton independent. Beautifully written, classy, and often informative.
Totally out of line but perfect example of how the town has drastically changed. Mary Jo has served on several boards in town. Marathon committee, board of assessors and select board to name three. Many, many years of her life given to the town of Hopkinton. If you can’t say something nice, try not saying anything. Would you use your own name instead of hiding behind a dumb by-line. Try being KIND at least during the holiday season.
Melody,
I’m sorry you feel that way but given how she behaved during the Loudermill hearings, this is karma. In fact, if you go back and look at not only her behavior, but her mannerisms during these hearings it was pretty clear she was most likely inebriated. The fact that she was caught wanting a drink during these hearings further supports she had /has no business being on any committee whatsoever,
I have NEVER gotten involved in any town politics wherever I have lived but, between a crooked chief of police and a disaster of a Select board, this is embarrassing! My hope is that they get rid of ritterbush and mary jo because God knows she won’t do the right thing and resign and with Brian Herr and other new blood, maybe this town can do what needs to be done and make it a better town to be proud of!
“Two drinks at TJ’s” = 4 drinks anywhere else. Also, if she’s telling the cops she had two, that really means she had 4. Apply the TJ’s multiplier and we are at 8. She was bombed, drove, crashed her car, and is lucky nobody was seriously hurt. Serving on boards doesn’t give you a free pass from that.