WINSLOW — Town councilors Jeff West and Dale Macklin resigned from their seats this week, citing negative behavior from other councilors.

West’s chair was empty at the start of the council meeting Monday night at the Winslow Public Library, where about two dozen town residents were in the audience. He had resigned earlier that afternoon and requested that his resignation letter be read at the meeting.

When Chairwoman Fran Hudson said the letter would not be read until public comment, Macklin walked out.

“Are you removing yourself from your seat, or are you just leaving?” Hudson asked.

Macklin said he did not have to answer her and left, leaving five members remaining around the seven-person council table.

A little over an hour into the meeting, Hudson asked for a motion to adjourn. Town Clerk Audra Fleury reminded her that public comment had yet to happen and read West’s letter, which said he resigned for reasons that are “far-reaching and are solely based on actions and inactions of certain councilors, including the town chairperson.”

Tuesday morning, Macklin submitted his resignation — something he said he intended to do all along.

“I walked out because I intended to resign anyway, and I’ve been extremely disappointed with the behavior of certain councilors,” Macklin said Tuesday. “I had had enough, and I decided that was it. I wasn’t going to sit through another two hours of whatever you want to call it.”

In the last two years, Winslow town government has undergone a number of changes.

Hudson was a political newcomer when she was elected two years ago along with Mike Joseph and Adam Lint. Since 2023, the town has seen rapid turnover of town managers — Erica LaCroix left for Farmington and Ella Bowman resigned, citing “hateful” rhetoric.

In April, the Town Council hired Steve Soucy, a resident with no municipal experience.

Macklin, who has been on the council for three years, said he has wanted to resign since last November but promised Bowman he’d stay until her last day as manager. When Public Works Director Paul Fongemie was named interim town manager after Bowman’s departure, Macklin said he decided to stick around a little longer.

“I said to Paul, ‘I will stick around to help you get through the budget,'” Macklin said. “Well, that time is over now, so that’s why it’s now and not last November. And nothing, nothing, nothing changed in the whole time.”

Macklin said that he and West would make no difference on the current council.

“Me staying on the council, or Jeff West staying on the council, we would be useless on that council,” Macklin said. “They don’t like us, we don’t like them, and they will rule. And I would be no good sitting in that council seat. I wouldn’t get anything done, nothing.”