Delivered to 15,000 Plainfield "doorsteps" Monday, Wednesday, Friday & Sunday

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Real issue of 'Scarlet Letter' is abuse of taxpayer resources


Use for unauthorized purposes is an abuse of taxpayer-funded resources.
 
Under 'new business', Plainfield Councilor Cory Storch introduced a resolution Monday evening decrying a slur-filled and homophobic flyer distributed throughout City Hall last week and calling for an attitude of celebrating Plainfield's diversity.

The resolution also called for specific measures by the Administration to make sure that there are no future incidents like this one. The resolution passed unanimously.

During the deliberations on the resolution, Corporation Counsel Dan Williamson was asked the status of the investigation into whether a city copies was used.

Williamson said he had been in touch with the copier vendor this past Wednesday (nearly a week after the flyer's production) and that they were expected to get back to the city 'in the next week or so'. There was no sense of urgency projected.

Seems quite clear to me that the Robinson-Briggs administration has decided to sandbag the Council on this matter, knowing full well (as I pointed out in an earlier post -- see here) that the likelihood of the offending flyer's being overwritten on the copier's hard drive increases with each passing day and each new copying job.

While the Storch resolution underscores an important point (civility, if not acceptance), the real issue -- ABUSE OF TAXPAYER-FUNDED RESOURCES -- in my mind has not been addressed. Number one, there should be a policy with extreme consequences for using City resources to produce or disseminate political and/or 'ugly free speech' materials. Secondly, the Robinson-Briggs administration should be chided to get to the bottom of this most recent flareup and make an object lesson of the perp or perps.

Only such action will get the attention of those engaging in these hijinx and curb future incidents.

An interesting sidebar during the deliberations came when Mayor Robinson-Briggs said the 'Scarlet Letter' piece was only one of two and that Storch failed to mention the second piece.

Protesting ignorance of it, Storch asked for more details, and a copy. (Now why, I ask you, did the Mayor/acting city administrator not have copies for the Council with her?)

For some bizarre reason she mentioned that there had also been a citation of death threats against herself 'in Dan Damon's blog' (see here, and here). As it turns out, Public Safety Director Martin Hellwig confirmed in an October 2008 Ledger story (see here) that there had been no outside, independent determination of any death threats against the mayor. This merely confirmed what I had been told by Police Chief Ed Santiago in 2006 that there were no credibly death threats against the Mayor to his knowledge.

Strange that Her Honor would mention this whole affair, as it did not involve hate speech of any kind, and is only embarrassing to her when all the facts are laid out in broad daylight.

Let it not be said the Mayor is afraid of embarrassing herself.



-- Dan Damon [follow]

View today's CLIPS here. Not getting your own CLIPS email daily? Click here to subscribe.

8 comments:

Rob said...

Sharon Robinson-Briggs is obviously suffering from a mental disorder.
First she says you are nothing but a rumor mill spreading idle gossip then she attempts to back up one of her delusional self important fantasies that "someone" is after her.
Unless the truth had a name change to "someone" it would see she is safe.
Since she couldn't lead an investigation on how to get out of a wet paper bag the "Scarlet Letter" will go the way of the rest of the city's issues. No where.
She can't and won't make Dave Wynn accountable for a city recreation department does anyone think she could hold someone accountable for abusing city resources ??? Oh that's right, she did...3 days for Hellwig with the "Masseur" on city time, with a city vehicle on a city laptop. At least he got a reach around, the taxpayers == ZILCH.

Bob said...

I agree with Rob. Shaday Sharonda strikes again and her foot dragging just implicates her, but she's too dense to see this. I wonder if people in her family inter-married, then she might have an excuse. Most of the people I've spoken to about this, about 20, think she's at the bottom of this. Sounds like she learned some dirty tactics from Jerry. I think it's time for "goodbye Sharon" and hello honest government.

Anonymous said...

The mayor is suffering from a mental disorder. She is also rude, illmannered, ill bred and classless. While Councilman Storch was reading was introducing his resolution, the mayor was talking to Corporation Council, then stood up and walked over to the City Clerk to hand him some papers, and over all looked bored and uninterested while Councilman Storch was reading.

And she has the nerve to say she is mayor to all of Plainfield. She is not, nor does she care to be, which is fine with me. My mother taught me to be better than that.

Anonymous said...

something smells fishy here, and with that attitude, she's definitely a threat to herself.

Anonymous said...

What kind of vendor says "We'll get back to you in a week or so"? This is unacceptable. I've worked with various vendors and have NEVER EVER been told this. Tell the vendor to get his butt to City Hall NOW!

fatAZZgymrat said...

where can i read this letter???please do tell

fatAZZgymrat said...

seems like things are worse since shes been mayor...mcwilliams was on the right path...imo

Dan said...

gymrat -- the 'Scarlet Letter' is online here --
http://ptoday.blogspot.com/2011/04/hate-flyer-authors-id-just-mouse-clicks.html

Scroll down toward end of the post.