Morse said Boyle was entitled to her opinion but his actions on authority issues have been transparent.
Angela A. Boyle, left, shown with husband Daniel C. Boyle in September, has withdrawn her candidacy for Holyoke Geriatric Authority board seat.HOLYOKE — A vacancy will be filled on the board that oversees the Holyoke Geriatric Authority this month, but it won’t be Angela A. Boyle.
Boyle, a nurse practitioner who was on the board from 2000 to 2008, said Tuesday she told Mayor Alex B. Morse she felt he was treating her like “a pawn in a political game” and withdrew her candidacy.
Morse said that that was untrue and that he has handled authority issues openly.
The authority is an 80-bed nursing home with another 80 daycare slots for elderly people at 45 Lower Westfield Road.
Morse is filling the seat vacated last month by former board member John P. Counter, who resigned because of personal and professional commitments.
Morse said Tuesday he plans to fill the seat in about a week from a field that includes candidates for a previous board opening and other residents.
Boyle was among four candidates for the seat to which the City Council on April 17 appointed James Brunault.
Boyle said Morse asked her if she was interested in being appointed by him to the seat and she told him yes. But then she learned Morse was considering others, as well, she said.
“I withdrew, obviously, because I was very disappointed at the way he handled it,” said Boyle, nurse practitioner with Hampshire Family Physicians, in Belchertown.
“I have a lot of experience (in geriatric care). ... I wanted to join the board to help the Geriatric and I love the elderly,” Boyle said.
Morse said Boyle was entitled to her opinion but his actions on authority issues have been transparent.
“As with all appointments, I take my time and do my research in the hopes of appointing the best possible person for the position. In this case, it seems like Angela Boyle is not that person,” Morse said.
He and his staff have been working on authority-related issues, he said, such as money owed to the city for employee retirement contributions.
The authority is overseen by a board consisting of three appointed by the City Council and three appointed by the mayor, with those six choosing a seventh.
Each board member is entitled to a $4,000-a-year-stipend. Those who take the stipend are Chairwoman Patricia C. Devine and members Raymond P. Murphy Jr., Charles F. Glidden, Joseph T. O’Neill and James Brunault. Member Jacqueline Watson said she returns the money to the authority.
Under the 1971 state act that established the authority, the council and mayor each must appoint one director representing the medical field, one representing the legal or financial field and a third with experience in geriatrics.