Just a few hours before Monday night's meeting, Barrington Town Council member Jacob Brier announced he was withdrawing his bid to be council president, and he apologized for comments he made about the current council leadership.

"At a time when it was important to put my best foot forward, I stumbled," Mr. Brier wrote. "In announcing my candidacy for council president, I intended to highlight a positive vision for our town, but my intentions fell short…I look forward to moving beyond this misstep and working hard for our community."

On Thursday afternoon, Mr. Brier sent out an email announcing his intentions to run for council president and alleging a list of problems with previous council leadership. He said the previous council had an "obfuscating management style" and ran "unmanageable, unproductive marathons" for meetings.

"The council has left too many people feeling as though they aren’t part of our decision-making processes, and believing we do not have their interests in mind," Mr. Brier wrote.

At 4:45 p.m. on Monday, Mr. Brier posted a two-minute Youtube video apologizing for his comments. He shared a similar message during Monday night's meeting.

When he was asked to vote on a nomination for Michael Carroll to continue serving as president, Mr. Brier took a moment to apologize for the statement he released on Thursday. Mr. Brier then voted in favor of having Mr. Carroll serve as president. That nomination was endorsed unanimously.

Mr. Carroll then nominated Rob Humm, a first-time council member who won a spot on the board during the November election. Mr. Humm's nomination also received a 5-0 endorsement.

U.S. Congressman David Cicilline attended the Zoom council meeting and conducted the swearing-in process for the three new council members — Mr. Humm, Annelise Conway and Carl Kustell — and for the three school committee members — incumbents Patrick McCrann and Megan Douglas, and newcomer Amanda Regino-Bass.

Rep. Cicilline also swore in new town moderator, Richard Staples.

Thursday's statement

In his announcement for council presidency on Thursday, Mr. Brier wrote that he believes Barrington was capable of greater engagement.

"My goal is to foster just that: to actively engage and empower a broader group of Barrington residents," he wrote. "I already create engagement in my own interactions with the public and there are several hundred of you who receive my emails or follow my blog. I have a plan to integrate my open style of leadership into the town council’s operations."

The town council has faced criticism at times. For example, dozens of residents and many of the real estate agents in Barrington appeared frustrated with the council, calling for a public discussion about a change in tax assessment policy a little more than a year ago.

Mr. Brier said the previous town council leadership's practices limited residents' ability to participate in the process.

"… I repeatedly hear from residents that our council decisions and actions lack transparency. The appearance of opacity is due to past choices that actively discourage engagement in the various ways that I describe above. These choices include limiting the council and public’s access to information, the previous president unilaterally setting the agenda without input from the entire Town Council, and approaching the Open Meetings Act as an obstacle rather than an opportunity," he wrote.

"My experience representing your needs has informed my open approach and style: I operate on the basis of 'nothing about us without us.'"

Mr. Brier also addressed the length of some recent of council meetings and the style of current leadership.

"We have all seen the devolution of recent council meetings into unmanageable, unproductive marathons," he wrote. "The previous leadership’s obfuscating management style meant that the council was unable to resolve conflicts before they became controversies. The council has left too many people feeling as though they aren’t part of our decision-making processes, and believing we do not have their interests in mind."