Forced to resign: West Bridgewater selectman accused of lying about where he lives

Anthony Kinahan strolled down the driveway, hopped in his vehicle, and began the commute to his business in Taunton.

It is a pattern the NBC10 Investigators documented day after day throughout May and June. While conducting surveillance, we observed Kinahan carrying breakfast, taking out the recycling, or sending off his wife as she left for work.

Why is this important?

At the time, Kinahan was the chair of the West Bridgewater Board of Selectmen. And all the videos we gathered during our investigation showed the elected official leaving a home in Braintree, roughly 20 miles from the West Bridgewater Town Hall.

“I just want the truth to come out,” said Jim Holden, who unsuccessfully ran against Kinahan in last year’s election.

During a candidate forum in March 2022, the topic of one of Holden’s social media posts came up, where he had raised concern about Kinahan selling his property in West Bridgewater a couple months earlier in January.

“I’m waiting for the right home for me and when I find it, I’ll buy it,” Kinahan responded. “In the meantime, I’m still residing in West Bridgewater. That’s all.”

After seeing the video, we contacted Holden to ask what he thought about his opponent’s response at the time.

“I didn’t care for it. That’s really the politest thing to say,” Holden said. “In my eyes, he was lying.”

On the April 2022 ballot, and on nomination paperwork filed with the Town, Kinahan listed his residence on Turnpike Street, according to documents we obtained via public records request.

Property records show that home has been owned by Kinahan’s cousin for nearly a decade.

“They do not check to make sure you actually live at that address,” Holden said.

When we checked the address, there was no sign of Kinahan. But we did see the cousin and her husband running errands, doing yard work, and picking up their son from school.

“I know that home is right around the corner from my office and I go by it multiple times a day. I have never seen him or his vehicle there,” said Meri Anderson, a former selectman who served a three-year term alongside Kinahan before losing her reelection bid last spring.

Anderson was the lone dissenting vote on the Board when the town administrator requested taxpayer funds be used to repair damage to his personal vehicle.

During her time in office, Anderson said she heard rumblings about whether Kinahan still lived in town. She described the situation as a “commonly known secret.”

Along with being in a position of power, the Select Board chair makes a modest annual stipend of about $3,500.

“This should be your passion,” Anderson said during an interview in late May. “I would expect him to do the right thing and declare where he’s living. And if it’s not in West Bridgewater, he should step down.”

So how serious is it if a local elected official doesn’t live in the community?

We took the issue to Suffolk University law professor, Janice Griffith, who specializes in state and local government law.

“The statute is fairly clear that when somebody removes his residence or domicile in a particular town, it’s deemed he’s vacated his office,” Griffith explained. “Basically, it’s a question of, ‘Is that their home?’ Is that where they are living? Is that where their social life is? Is that where they are most engaged with the community?”

Property records show Kinahan’s wife purchased the home on Hawthorn Road in Braintree last July. That transaction occurred just a few weeks before the couple had a destination wedding in Bermuda last August, according to a copy of the marriage certificate the NBC10 Investigators obtained on Thursday.

One thing that jumps out from the marriage certificate: Kinahan’s listed address was not located in West Bridgewater. Instead, it was a property in Dorchester owned by Kinahan’s brother, raising more questions about how long he has potentially resided outside the community he represented.

The voting history we obtained via public records request show Kinahan has cast a ballot in five local elections and one statewide election since the beginning of 2022.

We first reached out to Kinahan a month ago to let him know we were looking into allegations he did not live in West Bridgewater. He was initially unresponsive, but eventually told us that he could connect following a two-week vacation.

On Monday, we reached Kinahan by phone and requested an on-camera interview. The selectmen declined the interview, while insisting that he still lived in West Bridgewater.

We asked if Kinahan had anything to prove that he resided in town, like a utility bill. He indicated that he no longer lived at his cousin’s property and had since moved to his parents’ home a few doors down on Turnpike Street.

On Wednesday morning, we waited outside the Braintree home in an attempt to speak with Kinahan as he walked to his car. However, he exited from a different door and left in his car before we had a chance to ask any questions.

We then tried the cannabis business in Taunton that Kinahan co-owns. When he spotted our vehicle in the parking lot, he kept driving.

Later that morning, we saw Kinahan approach the business from a side street, but he hustled inside the door and did not stop when we asked him to respond to a few questions.

NBC10 then visited the cousin’s property in West Bridgewater that Kinahan had listed as his registered voting address in the last election.

When the homeowner answered the front door, we asked if Kinahan lives at the property.

“Yes,” she responded, before asking for a business card and declining to answer other questions.

By midday, Kinahan had submitted his letter of resignation, bringing his seven-year stint as selectman to an abrupt ending.

“Unfortunately, due to personal reasons I will be resigning from the Board of Selectmen effective today,” Kinahan wrote. “At this point in my life I no longer have the time that I once had to commit to this role and you deserve someone that is fully able to make this commitment as it is a vital position for the community.”

The letter did not make any mention of Kinahan’s residence. He was not present at that night’s Select Board meeting and the remaining elected officials may decide to hold a special election to fill his seat, according to the town clerk.

The story likely won’t end there.

According to a spokesperson with the Secretary of State, every town has a Board of Registrars that investigates complaints about whether someone is a registered voter in the community.

Following a hearing, the Board makes a determination. Depending on the findings, a case can be referred to authorities for further investigation. The town clerk told NBC10 Boston that any voter can file a complaint and there is no current investigation.

The Secretary of State’s office can also field written complaints and forward them to the appropriate agencies.

“I think this raises a lot of questions that we need clarification on,” Anderson said. “I’m surprised that it’s gone on this long.”

Ryan Kath can be reached at ryan.kath@nbcuni.com. You can follow him on Twitter or connect on Facebook.