GREENWOOD – It was big politics for this little town Thursday as residents at a special meeting voted to recall one of only three selectmen.

Ivan Roberts was ousted from his seat on the Greenwood Board of Selectmen by a vote of 70 to 23.

The meeting was held upstairs at town hall, and the room was full. Selectman Wayne Hakala and Deputy Town Clerk Angela Lovejoy were among the handful of people who spoke against Roberts.

Resident Albert Curtis Sr. asked what charges had been brought against the selectman to warrant the special town meeting.

“I don’t know as there’s really any charges,” Hakala said. “The reason being, if you bring charges, then you have to … go through a court procedure, basically.” He explained that the town ordinance allowing the recall of selectmen was adopted from Maine Municipal Association guidelines.

Hakala went on to say that working with Roberts was “extremely challenging.”

“I agonized a lot when this first come about, and at first I wasn’t for it, until I really thought it out,” he said.

The recall was enacted when a petition signed by 65 registered voters was submitted to town hall and accepted by the selectmen, including Roberts, Sept. 7.

Hakala on Thursday accused Roberts of name-calling, failing to listen, and not working with the other towns or the selectmen. He also said Roberts was aggressively pushing his own agenda.

Selectman Fred Henderson agreed. “I think it’s highly inappropriate for a selectman to threaten another selectman for the way he votes,” he added.

Planning Board members and former Selectman Marie Bartlett spoke against Roberts. Lovejoy said she loved her job, “but if Ivan continues as selectman, I will probably look for another job.”

Curtis and another man suggested that the selectmen should work through their problems without wasting taxpayer dollars on special meetings, but this apparently did little to sway the minds of many voters.

Nor did Roberts’ efforts to speak in his own defense.

“I have no personal grudges against anybody,” he said as he left the meeting. “This is what democracy is all about.”

He said he was sorry he would not be able to continue on the board, but the “recall of Ivan Roberts is not the most important thing that’s going on in the world.”

Hakala said the remaining selectmen will at some point meet to discuss filling Roberts’ position. First, he said, “Give the people a chance to settle down – think things through.”

The recall issue, he noted, was “a hard situation at best.”