There was a procedural problem with the posting of a special
election to be held on February 6, 2012 in the Town of Templeton. Templeton’s
town counsel at that time was Lisa L. Mead of the law firm Blatman, Bobrowski
& Mead. In a letter dated February 3,
2012, Ms. Mead outlined the steps to take to correct the posting
error. The last paragraph on the second
page raises an interesting, and unknown ethical dilemma. It was determined by
Amy Mee, a staff attorney at the State Ethics Commission, that the two BOS
members who were up for election could not sign the Warrant as they have a
financial interest in the outcome of the election.
The warrant
was signed by the three BOS members who were not up for election at that time.
Apparently, local officials have been violating ethics laws in the Commonwealth
for over 25 years. I filed a
public record request to the ethics commission for this groundbreaking
opinion. I received this
response from Ms. Rooney at Ethics.
Very quick turnaround time for the Ethics commission.
I filed another public
records request for the same opinion. I felt a responsibility to share this
information with all elected officials across the Commonwealth. Alas,
apparently this opinion is top secret information as evidenced by this letter
to myself, Julie Farrell; as well as a letter
to Templeton BOS member, Jeffrey Bennett.
I believe every elected official in the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts should be made aware this groundbreaking determination by the
State Ethics Commission. The penalties for violating conflict of interest or
appearance of conflict interest are quite costly and range from $10,000 to
$25,000. I believe it is the responsibility of the State Ethics commission to
educate all local officials so they can comply with the law.
My opinions…supported by FACTS!
Julie Farrell
What an arrogant and insulting reply from a person who works for the taxpayers.
ReplyDeleteI agree!
DeleteI agree, too, & thank goodness it is going to be harder & harder to remain that arrogant & out of touch with the taxpayers or their representatives with blogsites such as Pauly's. Looks to me like those at the Ethics board are also in conflict. In my opinion, if K&P was instrumental in making the laws then they should not be allowed to be a part of anything that has their name associated with it. Are these lawyers & commissions trying to deliberately keep vital info from selectmen or boards so they can fine people for conflicts to raise revenue for the state? I wouldn't put it past a few of them who think they are above the laws themselves!! Let's all keep those arrogant SOBs accountable to us. It's unwarranted stuff like this that caused Mrs. Farrell so much trouble before when she was trying to get info distributed to help this town run more honestly. It also makes it harder for good people such as her to want to run for office & get that info out to the community, who have a right to know how their town & state govts. are run. These are my opinions this evening.
DeleteAfter receiving that letter, I called Ms. Mee and after a conversation, I asked her if my name is on an election warrant and I have a financial interest in it, at the time we still got paid monthly, I asked if I signed said warrant would I be in jeopardy of ethice, Ms. Mee told me over the phone that she would advise me not to sign a warrant if I was up for election and I was or would be paid for the position. I again asked if I could see that opinion, she replied no, so I have to ask, since this involved state ethice, bob columbus and as we have seen from documents K&P may have been involved working towards coming back to Templeton, I wonder if that opinion ever was put in writing, if it was a convient response to a request from Len, who if you read his biography, you will see he had alot to do with the writing of the ethics rules and if you check the biography of one of his attorneys, Lauren Goldberg, she outlines the state agencies that she has worked for, how she still maintains contacts with those state agencies which equals quick turn around for her clients, which apparently are usually the selectmen, the taxpaerys only pay the bills. I nor anyone else apparently knows if this opinion even exists, and here I thought for a legal opinion to have any merit, according to MGL chapter 268A, they have to be in writing and on file with the town clerk, i would like to see this opinion so no Templeton selectmen violate state ethics.
ReplyDeleteIt seems the Ethics Commission isn't very ethical. It thought their sole purpose was to explain the rules and enforce them. If they do not explain the rules, how can they enforce them?
ReplyDeleteIf one checks the MGL, ethics commission actually is under chapter 268B and this is where you find subsection 3g. "upon written request from a person who is or may be subject to the provisions of this chapter or chapter 268A, render advisory opinions on the requirements of said chapters. An opinion rendered by the commission, until and unless amended or revoked, shall be a defense in a criminal action brought under chapter 268A and shall be binding on the commission in any subsequent proceedings concerning the person who requested the opinion and who acted in good faith, unless material facts were omitted or misstated by the person in the request for an opinion. Such requests shall be confidential; provided, however, that the commission may publish such opinions, but the name of the requesting person and any other identifying information shall not be included in such publication unless the requesting person consents to such inclusion. My read is the ethics commission was blowing smoke up some people's ass, plain & simple. They would not print that opinion cause how many selectmen have violated ethics and not known it, but ethics would not even respond to copies of paper work where jerry skelton signed off on pay increases for his wife, yes I have them.
ReplyDeleteNow, that's seems to make the most sense!
DeleteWhy do I see visions of Lenny as I read Julies blog? Why does the AG's office call Len when they get a complaint from the anyone from the Town of Templeton. I smell pig crap, and that is the worst smell in the world and It seems these people are in the pen together. This is way past acceptable behavior. We need to find a way to renmedy the situation. We may need to go higher than we ever planned. Looks like someone is busy throwing road blocks in our way. To bad for them, we are such a determined bunch. Looks like we may have to use one of those Wilsons' Buses, it may be time for a long road trip. Bev.
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