#1 2009-11-20 17:55:59

You have got to read this! get past the thank yous for everyone including the janitors, to the totally unreal crapadola at the end . I'll be back. after you read this from today's Courier.


To the editor:

I wish to extend my gratitude to everyone who assisted me in preparing for - and in the conduct of - this past Town Meeting, which concluded Oct 27:

To the Board of Selectmen: For your support of my attempts to implement procedural changes designed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Town Meeting, I thank you.

To the Finance Committee: For your diligence in reviewing the warrant articles and making recommendations to Town Meeting , and for your cooperation and support regarding the implementation of my consent calendar.

To the town clerk: Thank you for you able assistance as, among other things, official record keeper and timekeeper of Town Meeting. I could not do my job without your help.

To the town checkers and tellers, including the student tellers from Wareham High School: For your attention to detail -and to your patience and stamina.

To town counsel: For your timely and sage advice, I thank you.

To the Town Hall and Wareham High School support staff: To the custodial staff, to the Town Hall information technology department and to the high school audio/visual department and their volunteers for making a comfortable environment for us in which to conduct our business.

And last, but certainly not least,  I want to thank each and every voter who participated in a civil and respectful manner during the past two sessions of our democratic process known as Town Meeting.

Finally, I would be remiss if I did not address Ms. Melodye Conway’s recent letter to the editor, in which she excused her disrespectful behavior, and that of others, at Town Meeting as being the fault of the Board of Selectmen and the moderator.

To Ms. Conway: Take responsibility for your actions and don’t try to rationalize your bad acts as being caused by someone else. That attitude reminds me of a variation of the old saying, “(S)he who lives in a glass house should not throw stones.” In other words, Ms. Conway has engaged in a disruptive and disrespectful manner at several Town Meetings over the past eight years that I have served as your moderator (not just recently, as she suggests in her recent letter). On more than one occasion in the past, I have been compelled to admonish her and to instruct her to cease her disorderly conduct.

Here is what one Internet blogger said in response to Ms. Conway’s recent posting of her letter to the editor:

Dave DiPietro: “Great letter. Nice meeting you at TM. You had me cracking up every time FinCom (deleted) said (deleted), or however she says it, every twelve seconds or so. Good thing, cuz it was driving me nuts!! I was thinking it would make for a good drinking game. Everyone takes a shot whenever she says it. Forget it, we'd all be shi**ed in an hour. PS TBW.”

Simply put, one cannot be part of the solution if one is part of the problem.

In closing, your suggestions and comments on how to improve the Town Meeting process are encouraged.

Please send your suggestions to: John Donahue, town moderator, Memorial Town Hall, 54 Marion Road, Wareham 02571. The e-mail address is Moderator@wareham.ma.us.

John Donahue, moderator,

Wareham

Last edited by notalawyer (2009-11-20 17:57:42)

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#2 2009-11-20 18:06:01

Here's my suggestion: Kiss my ass.
Here's another suggestion: Melodye Conway for Selectman or Moderator.

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#3 2009-11-20 18:15:02

Well, well, well.

It's all her fault!

I don't believe that I know the guilty (per the TnMod) party, Ms. Conway. but I suspect that we have sat within earshot at Town meetings. and yes , the individual that I think is Ms. Conway has a running commentary regarting the Town Meeting.

So what?

For YOUR Town Moderator to take someone's response to her flippant, not public, comments during the meeting, and translate them into some sort of condemnation speaks volumes. About HIM, that is.

In over a third of a century in attending Town Meetings in more than one community, I have NEVER seen a Town Moderator, worthy of the name that is, interject himself in the middle of a politcal question and/or situation. But YOUR Town Moderator appears to feel that everyone is entitled to his opinion.

Folks. this is not a good thing.

Ms. Conway expressed herself quite well, and has no need for me to defend her and her opinions. But: It is anathema for a Town Moderator to go after an individual member of the Town Meeting. An individual who is, if my observation is correct, a REGULAR at Town Meeting.

What is wrong with that cottonhead?

It is a rhetorical question, as you well know.

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#4 2009-11-20 18:32:34

"one cannot be part of the solution, if one is part of the problem"

Ah, such a nice aphorism, indeed.

Perhaps, the (self)esteemed town Moderator, a Legend in his own Mind (yes, yes, that might be giving credit for a biological entity that doesn't exist, but humor me here) wrote that while peering into:

Mirror, Mirror, on the wall
who's the biggest fraud of all?

So, let me restate the above aphorism:

"The town Moderator cannot be part of the solution, given what he contibutes to the problem"

Hey John-boy! Here's another one for you:

LEAD
FOLLOW
GET OUT OF THE WAY.

Lead? you have got to be kidding!
Follow? not an option to the one remaining brain cell.
Get Out of the Way? Works for Me!

April 6. 2010

Last edited by notalawyer (2009-11-20 18:36:15)

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#5 2009-11-20 18:44:24

Hey Gang!

I don't have the technical ability, so please allow this request.

Would someone please post the actual letter from Ms. Conway to the Courier on this website.

Here's the kind of slimebots you have to deal with. The letter from Ms. Conway was fairly soon after the Town Meeting. But the attack comes WEEKS later, when most have forgotten her points in the letter.

Pathetic, but all too typical.

April 6, 2010

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#6 2009-11-20 19:04:03

April 6, 2010 cannot come fast enough. We need to get his sorry moderator ass off the stage. He cannot even organize a protest to the Bob Brady meeting. He has screwed up everything he has touched. I can't wait to see some competition for the moderator. He is a slime ball if there ever was one. April 6, 2010 - so close!

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#7 2009-11-20 19:07:42

a good moderator does not attack people in the audience, he is truely a jerk

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#8 2009-11-20 19:25:01

Here is the text of Melodye's letter, I do not know the date it was printed but it appeared in both the Courier and the Standard Times:
To the Editor and the citizens of Wareham,

My name is Melodye Conway. I have lived in Wareham for 39 years and attended Town Meeting regularly since I was old enough to participate. I vote in our local elections, have volunteered hundreds of hours on several Town boards and committees as well as been active with local youth organizations.

I attended both nights of Fall Town Meeting and will admit I was appalled at the lack of civility demonstrated by many in attendance, including the Board of Selectmen. In my years of experience I have never witnessed such outlandish behavior and it saddens me to see what this purest form of democracy, that has guided our Town for hundreds of years, has degraded to.

I place the blame for this situation solely at the feet of our current leadership including the Moderator. When the Selectmen regularly criticize and ridicule private citizens, volunteer board members and Town employees it is no wonder the citizenship will follow suit and behave in a manner less than appropriate for a Town Meeting setting. Our Moderator has allowed this behavior from all parties to escalate over the last few years to a point where he no longer has any control of the meeting. Our Selectmen have no respect for the voters who attend Town Meeting, consistently labeling voters who do not support their initiatives as corrupt special interest lobbyists. One Selectman even went so far as to say those voters were “ugly people with black hearts” in print in a local publication.

I suggest instead that the Selectmen should lead by example and exhibit the level of civility and respect to the citizens of this community that they seem to expect be granted to themselves. I suggest as well that we need a Moderator who is capable of assuring that the body in its entirety maintains the level of decorum that should always be exhibited at Town Meeting.

The Town Meeting system works. Any registered voter with an opinion has the right to attend and be heard and to vote their conscience. With solid guidance from our leadership the Town Meeting form of government is effective.

It is my understanding that the Selectmen are intending to place the failed Westfield initiative and the failed Civil Service article on the April Town Ballot. At the public urging of the Chairman of the Board of Selectmen, nearly 500 voters attended and spoke clearly on Monday night, and 260+ on Tuesday. Their votes should not be discounted, ridiculed or dismissed. Personally I have had enough and urge the voters of Wareham to stand up and be heard. We cannot allow our current Board of Selectman to attempt to override the Town Meeting process.

Sincerely,

Melodye Conway

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#9 2009-11-20 19:32:17

NAL:
I do know Melodye Conway, and I believe that she has been a regular attendee at Town Meeting since she was old enough to participate. I also find it to be in poor taste that an elected official, who moderates the legislative body of our community and who should at all times (at least give the appearance) remain neutral, would attack a private citizen. Ms. Conway has an absolute right to express her views in a letter to the editor, she is a voter. The Moderator is an elected public official that (in most places) is held in high regard amongst the citizens, to make statements like this about a private citizen is unacceptable.

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#10 2009-11-20 21:13:03

Thank you, Cara.

And, Thank you Melodye Conway, for pointing out the splendor of the Emperor's new clothes.

Ladies & Gentlemen, boys & girls: Can you not see?

Here's an attack on a young lady who has dedicated herself to the selfless task of being there for you. For every one of you, at your Open Town Meetings. And what is her crime, her mortal sin? To speak her mind as she sees the truth unfold in front of her.

Several times on this blog, I have referenced the Salem Witch Trials, and the lessons they bring to us over three centuries later. Here it is again. Melodye Conway is a WITCH. Oh, they didn't use that apellation; but you know damn right well that that is the game, isn't it. Salem in the late 1600's   -   Wareham in the early 2000's. The difference is what?

John Dean said to Nixon: "There is a cancer growing on the Presidency"
Melodye Conway has assumed the role of John Dean, a role which she did not seek. But, she has spoken in the very same mindset that moved many to alert us all about Watergate.

Please. Reread her letter. Think hard about the points she makes, all of them. And then, ask yourself the following questions:

What do you have to do between now and April 6, 2010, that is more important than solving the obvious problem?

What MORE can you do between now and April 6, 2010, to help candidates who are pledged to deleting the exposed parts of the problem?

What are you waiting for, a written invitation?

April 6, 2010.

Last edited by notalawyer (2009-11-20 21:14:12)

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#11 2009-11-20 21:14:20

HOW CAN SOMEONE MODERATE WHEN IT SHOWS HOW CLEARLY ONE-SIDED HE IS?

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#12 2009-11-20 21:59:15

Once again, a Donahue has turned one of the most pure forms of expression into a political statement. If there was any reason to remove this moron, this is it. It's not the racial baiting he tries to ignore or his involvement in the attacks on the library, it's his pompous approach to an elected office.

Vote this person out and replace him with someone who actually care what the people think.

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#13 2009-11-20 22:08:40

and furthermore....

Wow! the old Dude (that would be me) is really wound up tonight. this smarmy attack on a citizen utilizing their First Amendment rights has got the BP elevated, indeed.

to paraphase LBJ: come let us parse together.

1. Dona'HO': "she excused her disrespectful behaviour" Two things - the letter of Ms. Conway says absolutely nothing about this point that the Town Moderator is trying to get you accept, i.e. her behaviour. I did not see, and please correct me if I am mistaken, the Town Moderator single out Ms. Conway during the Town Meeting for disrespecful behaviour. This appears to be a total fabrication by the Great Fabricator.

2. Dona'HO': "rationalize your bad acts" "He/she who lives in a glass house should not throw stones" Is the Town Moderator talking to himself, here?
This is the one who pushed the Town into the arms of the Department of Revenue when he was playing his lights on/lights off game while 'serving' (pardon the expression) the town as an assessor. the town remains on the DOR watchlist, a direct result of his malfeasance. This is the one who was pursued by investigators from the Providence Journal because he neglected to perform his duties as the assessor for the Town of Swansea, finally resulting in termination. The DOR has a thick file on this miscreant, you can be sure. One would think that a normal person would be overwhelmed with embarassment at only ONE of these misadventures.
But NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Not our Johnboy. No sirree! Not the Royal Regent of Rationalization of Bad Acts. No way! Not the denizen of that Glass House walking around in the Emperor's New Clothes! that's a big NFW!

Wonder if johnboy is selling any shares in the Cape Cod Tunnel? Fits in with anything else he's peddlin'.

April 6, 2010

Last edited by notalawyer (2009-11-20 22:10:23)

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#14 2009-11-21 00:26:27

alsoHE WAS FIRED FROM HIS JOB AT THE COUTHOUSE,WHAT THIS CROWD IS DOING IS  ATTACKING OTHER PEOPLE AND GET PEOPLE MIMDS OFF THE ELECTION IN APRIL , DONAAHUE , CRONAN , BRUCE AND MARYANN SILVA HAVE TO BE VOTED OUT IN APRIL,NEVER IN ALL MY DAYS IN WAREHAM HAVE I SEEN SUCH A CORUPT BUNCH ,WE THE TOWN OF WAREHAM ARE BEING RUN BY A MAFFIA LIKE CRIME SINDICATE WHO WANT A MAYOR FORM OF GOVERMANT TO  GIV E THEM SELVES HIGH PAYING GOVT JOBS THAT THEY CANT GET IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR AS THEY ARE ALL LOSERS.   IDONT TRUST MARY ANN SILVA TO RUN A FAIR ELECTION , I THINK THE VOTING MACHINES HAVE TO BE CHECKED OUT BY AN UNBIASED GROUP BEFORE THEY ARE PUT INTO SERVICE IN THE NEXT ELECTION.

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#15 2009-11-21 01:35:58

April 6, 2010
click

P-SPAN
TAKEBACKWAREHAM

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#16 2009-11-21 01:50:13

ihateliz wrote:

I THINK THE VOTING MACHINES HAVE TO BE CHECKED OUT BY AN UNBIASED GROUP BEFORE THEY ARE PUT INTO SERVICE IN THE NEXT ELECTION.

Each year, the Justice Department deploys hundreds of federal observers from OPM, as well as departmental staff, to monitor elections across the country. To file complaints about discriminatory voting practices, including acts of harassment or intimidation, voters may call the Voting Section of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division at 1-800-253-3931.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 2 DOJ-election-monitors

Last edited by billw (2009-11-21 01:52:30)

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#17 2009-11-21 04:07:47

I kind of hate to say this, but Liz Pezzoli warned the people of Wareham about his job failures and more.  Apparantly, they must have brought in as many people that they could round up for him to be elected.''

Everyone is entitled to write a letter to the editor, but I find this in bad taste, especially picking out Ms.Conway as the only person that was upset with the handling of Town Meeting.

He needs to be relieved of his duties.

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#18 2009-11-21 07:02:20

bornofwareham wrote:

I kind of hate to say this, but Liz Pezzoli warned the people of Wareham about his job failures and more.  Apparantly, they must have brought in as many people that they could round up for him to be elected.''

Everyone is entitled to write a letter to the editor, but I find this in bad taste, especially picking out Ms.Conway as the only person that was upset with the handling of Town Meeting.

He needs to be relieved of his duties.

The Cat Lady had no problem with John, Jane and the rest helping her get re-elected to the Prudential Committee!!..without there help, the BFI Dumpster driving, former Bobo partner would not have gotten elected!!..let's not forget the night John (or is it Joe Kennedy) was removed as Water Distric Moderator and he and his lovely bride scrambled around with their cell phones to save Marybeth's job!!

I've always felt that this is Mr and Mrs Moderator's moment in the Sun, thinking they are truley the power in the Town..let's get these wanna-be Bill and Hillary out of office, and send Cronie, Brucey, and Silva with them!!!

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#19 2009-11-21 07:05:19

I can tell you exactly why John Donahue is attacking Melodye Conway. I have been to many town meetings run by JD. Or should I say mis-run.

I don't think one town meeting has gone by with JD at the helm where Melodye did not have to stand up with a point of order claim. Sometimes she has had to make several points of order. And if i remember correctly, she is right at least 99% of the time and JD had to admit it.

This is just his way of trying to discredit a person who knows more about Town Meeting Time than himself, the man who is running/mis-running town meeting.

In my opinion, he is nothing more than a race-baiting, bos biased hack who can't keep a job. Throw the bum out come April.

P.S. Remember when Jack Taber ran town meeting? I can't recall one point of order call (although I'm sure there had to be an occasional one, I just can't remember it being the type of standard practice that has occurred with JD holding the gavel.)

And don't get me started on his thanking the town clerk for "keeping time." When one of the bos is up ranting, the clock isn't even on. People in the audience have to point out when the clock isn't running or when the time has run out which usually happens again when the bos is ranting at us or scolding us. The legislative body was called unruly for doing the job of the clerk who was so warmly praised by JD for really, not doing her job. 

I have heard that the Donahue power in town has eroded especially with the CV community who did not appreciate the race baiting.

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#20 2009-11-21 07:18:58

THE CAT LADY USED TO RAIL AGAINDT THE FIRE DEPT YEARS AGO NOW THAT SHE WAS ON THE PB RUDENDIAL COMMITEE AND SHE WROTE FOR BOBO NO PROBLEMS WITH THE FIRE DEPT SHE VOTES THE DONAHUE LINE AT THE FIRE DEPT AND TAHTS WHY THEY KEEP ELECTING HER ,MAYBE SHE WAS ANTI DONAHUE BUT OLE LIZI CAN BE BOUGHT , SHE WAS BOUGHT BY BOBO FOR 5K AND SHE IS BOUGHT BY HER VOTES     ON THE FIRE DEPT BY HER STIPEND AND HER HEALTH INSURANCE,

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#21 2009-11-21 07:19:26

Lets not forget this A-Hole proclaiming "Town Meeting is dissolved" after a motion to adjourn was passed!..no one listened to his speech (sounded like he was campaigning), but we all heard him say this then stand on stage with the Chesire-cat smile on his face!!

I gues when you're married to the Crypt Keeper you gotta get your rocks off somehow!!

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#22 2009-11-21 07:28:01

/

Last edited by ihateliz (2009-11-21 07:39:25)

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#23 2009-11-21 08:54:29

Didn’t someone post awhile back that John Donahue was at the nursing homes signing up people for absentee ballots? Is that allowed is that legal? Someone could win the election if they got all the votes from the nursing homes. I know most of the staff of the nursing homes takes non interference and voters rights very seriously. It would good to know that these patients are protected and that no one from any candidate’s campaign was around the nursing homes while people are filling out their absentee ballots

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#24 2009-11-21 09:14:27

I don't know John Donahue personally, but I have witnessed his behavior at Town Meeting and have a copy of the email he sent out during the racial baiting situation. I also have comments from another site where he attacked my wife. I believe that he may be one of the worst examples of leadership I have seen. Of course, we should lump him in with the Selectmen.

It was very telling at Town Meeting he was bias. On the first day, when certain speakers went on their diatribes, he walked away and just happened to show up about 2 minutes after their time was up. He left his post on numerous occasions to allow more time to the speakers. His instructions to the counters lacked much to be desired. He allowed the voters to consider Brenda's effort to resolve the meeting before it was closed.

He has no room to talk about Melodye! If BB wasn't going against JD, then I would think she could show him how to run a meeting with class and dignity. The senior citizen who sat in front of me said it all when he turned to me and said, "Jack Taber would be embarrassed".

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#25 2009-11-21 14:36:02

slagisDB wrote:

bornofwareham wrote:

I kind of hate to say this, but Liz Pezzoli warned the people of Wareham about his job failures and more.  Apparantly, they must have brought in as many people that they could round up for him to be elected.''

Everyone is entitled to write a letter to the editor, but I find this in bad taste, especially picking out Ms.Conway as the only person that was upset with the handling of Town Meeting.

He needs to be relieved of his duties.

The Cat Lady had no problem with John, Jane and the rest helping her get re-elected to the Prudential Committee!!..without there help, the BFI Dumpster driving, former Bobo partner would not have gotten elected!!..let's not forget the night John (or is it Joe Kennedy) was removed as Water Distric Moderator and he and his lovely bride scrambled around with their cell phones to save Marybeth's job!!

I've always felt that this is Mr and Mrs Moderator's moment in the Sun, thinking they are truley the power in the Town..let's get these wanna-be Bill and Hillary out of office, and send Cronie, Brucey, and Silva with them!!!

You MAY be right about the election of Liz to the Prudential Committee, but I don't think so.     I wish I had some of her original copies of the Observer, when she was the sole writer, etc.   She blew him out of the water every chance she got.  She reported on his problems in (I think) Somerset, which wasn't a pretty picture.  I do not remember the details, but I recall asking her why she had to mention him like that (badly) when ever she could.  She would go on a rant about how dishonest he was, etc..  I wish I could remember the things printed and spoken about John Donahue.  She was viscious.  I DON'T believe he had anything to do with her getting elected unless the person running against her was someone he wanted out.

No, I am not defending Liz.  I am stating the fact that she is NOT a fan of John Donahue, or at least she wasn't.  I can't speak for how she feels about him today, but yes, she did write in her paper and warn the readers of John Donahue's past.

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#26 2009-11-21 17:18:38

Born, I believe Liz agreed not to go after John's sister because she is incompetent in her position within the district. That is when the Donahue's supported Liz and Mary Beth is still incompetent and still in her role of Treasurer of the District. It is all about the money!

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#27 2009-11-21 20:09:54

LIZ HAS HAD BAD THINGS TO SAY ABOUT JOHN DONAHUEAND THE FIRE DEPT ,GET HER TO SAY THOSE THINGS ON RECORD NOW , SHE WONT AND LIZ IS A HIPOCRIT , LIZ GOES BY THE MOTTO WHAT IS IN IT FIR ME AND HER FREINDS BE DAMMED.

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#28 2009-11-21 21:36:27

rukidding wrote:

Born, I believe Liz agreed not to go after John's sister because she is incompetent in her position within the district. That is when the Donahue's supported Liz and Mary Beth is still incompetent and still in her role of Treasurer of the District. It is all about the money!

I think you may be right on this.  I do recall the name being mentioned as incompetent.  It seems to fit into play.  I agree with the medical benefits.

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