#1 2009-10-15 14:07:51
To use a Bobo phrase, "I had to pick my jaw up off the floor," when I saw Bobo wrote in his "Just the Facts" Column that the DA never found an open meeting law violation when the selectmen hired John McAulliffe behind closed doors in an executive session. Is he serious? And he talks about other people lying through their teeth? What's next? Is he going to tell us the sky isn't blue and the grass isn't green?
There is so much documentation, so many newspaper reports, it was so much a part of a public record, damn it, he wrote about it in his own paper, he once wrote that he'd let it go, but and I quote "If they ever violate the open meeting law again, I'll be all over them."
What's next? Bobo tries to tell us that the Earth isn't round?
Last edited by Hamatron5000 (2009-10-15 14:10:20)
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#2 2009-10-15 14:19:20
Semantics perhaps?
In a June 16, 2007 ST article we find: Mrs. Eckstrom said that, based on her reading of the law, she believed they could take the vote in closed session. She said she did not contact town counsel beforehand regarding the law because she considered the language clear-cut and wanted to avoid excessive use of the counsel.
However, she acknowledges she did not immediately realize the implication of another clause, which states any meeting "to consider" finalists should be public. She said when she reviewed the law to consider how to proceed, she did not read that particular clause.
After being contacted by The Standard-Times' editorial page editor regarding this question Thursday, Mrs. Eckstrom said she spoke with town counsel and the Plymouth County District Attorney's Office.
She said she was told that, while it was all right to discuss the matter in a closed meeting, under the negotiation exemption the selectmen should have taken the vote in public.
And in a June 20, 2007 article we find: WAREHAM — Selectmen repeated their vote Tuesday to hire a new town administrator, after acknowledging they violated the state's Open Meeting Law when they originally made the appointment.
The selectmen unanimously voted to hire Somerset Town Administrator John McAuliffe as Wareham's next administrator. They took the original vote June 10 in a session that was closed to the public.
"Clearly, we violated the Open Meeting Law," said Selectman Bruce D. Sauvageau, who moved to hire Mr. McAuliffe. "There is no doubt of that. It was a mistake. It shouldn't have happened."
So, was it the DA who found them in violation? Clearly, they were in violation. I guess some reporters like to spin the facts while others simply report them.
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#3 2009-10-15 14:23:05
Molly,
Thank you for that. Even Sweet Brucey says they violated open meeting law. Surely, Bobo would never call his Sweet Brucey a liar.
This is getting pathetic now. Bobo is lying about verifiable facts. Next he'll try to tell us that two plus two doesn't equal four.
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#4 2009-10-15 15:09:08
An aside re: open meeting laws and such.
Last week, when I was tracking the Plymouth Town Manager situation for personal reasons, an article in the Patriot Ledger caught my attention, regarding the Town of Duxbury.
It seems that the BoS went into executive session there, and part of the ES was broadcast over the cable system (audio only). Can you believe such an event could occur? In fact, the article said that TWENTY (20) minutes was broadcast 'inadvertently'. Not a measly 6 minutes, no sir, a full 20 minutes.
And, there's more.
The purpose of the ES was to discuss the employment status of a Town employee. In fact, they wanted to fire the police chief. You may not believe what I am about to relate from the article.
1. there was no name-calling by the BOS toward the Town employee. Not one member of the BoS asserted that the Police Chief was the biggest rat in Duxbury. Not one.
2. the Police Chief was PRESENT at the ES. Can you believe it? And, he was represented by counsel! Who ever heard of such a thing?
3. the number that was on the table for negotiation (what a concept, negotiation!), was $250,000, to make the Chief go away. Tommy J., did you miss the boat?
Clearly, the Duxbury BoS needs to contact the Wareham BoS to get some pointers on the correct way to harrass, ah make that properly deal with employees that they hate, er make that find to be a problem.
Last edited by notalawyer (2009-10-15 15:10:32)
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