Speaking of Ed Comeau...this is GREAT fun! - Granite Grok

Speaking of Ed Comeau…this is GREAT fun!

Like I just said here, ‘Grok friend Ed Comeau (he of the “big honkin’ camera”) goes to a multitude of local and state boards and commissions to record their meetings.  I can tell you with great authority when someone sees that staring at them, knowing that someone is going to watch that video, you can literally watch attitudes and behaviors change.  Change – yes, Ed accomplishes change at  Government Oversite in doing just this.

He also issues RTKs – Right to Know demands under NH’s RSA 91 for when one thinks that someone in Government has pulled some kind of shenanigans. This is the Citizen’s way of going “WAIT A SECOND” – and it can change behaviors as well.  And that has a couple peoples’ panties in a wad (HEH! – reformatted, emphasis mine):

Two men elected to county commission refuse to take office unless protected from Right-to-Know lawsuits

OSSIPEE – The two men elected last month to seats on the Carroll County commission refuse to be sworn in until the county delegation agrees to provide them financial coverage in the event that a Right to Know lawsuit is filed against them.  The Right to Know law covers a wide range of governmental entities such as school boards, selectmen and county commissions. The commissioners’ insurance carrier, Primex, does not cover Right to Know lawsuits. The county commissioners already have one pending Right to Know lawsuit against them as individuals and the county.

Ha!  My first reaction was “don’t do stupid things – and if you see such by those that report to you, expose it!”  And here is where “the funny” starts as it becomes clear that Ed’s reputation rightly proceeds him: 

Ed Comeau, founder of Governmentoversite.com, filed the lawsuit. Since then, Comeau has become a state representative who sits on the county legislative delegation, a group of 15 state representatives which is responsible for setting county budgets.  Commissioner-elect Denny Miller, who replaces Asha Kenney, brought up his concern about legal liability at the delegation meeting of Dec. 8. Commissioner David Babson, who was reelected in November, agreed to join Miller in not wanting to be sworn in.

And then we see that someone forgot to do his homework:

The new commissioners were scheduled to be sworn in on Jan. 7 but the delegation meets next on Jan. 9. Miller told the delegation that he only recently found out he could be personally liable for Right to Know lawsuits.  “I didn’t sign up for this job to put my personal assets at risk to do what is, in my mind, a public job,” said Miller. “Unless I get assurance from this group that you are going to cover my exposure financially, for a decision I make as a commissioner, I am very reluctant to take this position.”

In a phone interview, commissioner Dave Babson agreed with Miller.  “I’m not going to risk my retirement to people like Ed Comeau who can come in and sue us as individuals,” said Babson. “When you can start suing us as individuals, I’m out. If I do not get protection, I do not plan on being sworn in.”

Note to this duo: if you do something bad, stuff happens.  If YOU do your jobs right with EVERYTHING according to normally acceptable protocols (e.g., don’t think about backroom deals, nepotism, cronyism, sleight of hand deals, abusing your authority), you have NOTHING to fear.  But remember this – don’t answer an RTK fully, honestly, and withhold information and you WILL be held accountable.  Frankly, I wish MORE people in public service would be disallowed from “qualified immunity” in this regard – too many times I’ve seen those that are supposed to be our public servants get that uppity snottiness that oozes “just go away and leave me alone – WE run things there” with a condescending attitude that, in a lot of cases, demands such.

Which also exists, at times, by those issuing the RTK – but there’s a remedy for that, too:

…The Right to Know law also says that officials can be subject to paying attorneys’ fees and civil penalties ranging from $250 to $2,000. However, the court can award attorneys’ fees to the officials if the Right to Know law request is frivolous.

But antagonizing Ed, well, that’s not something that *I* would want to do – but Babson goes there and does it by claiming something that isn’t true (like I said, don’t do stupid stuff!)

Babson points out that Comeau’s lawsuit requests information dating back to 2008 when he was not a commissioner and that some of the then commissioners were not named in Comeau’s lawsuit.   “If you think that’s fair you’ve got rocks in your head,” Babson told Comeau at a commission meeting.

Wrong answer, dude!

Comeau replied, “First of all, I don’t have rocks in my head. The county is supposed to do what it is supposed to do.”   Comeau said his lawsuit only dates back to 2013.
The commission is a three-person board and if Babson and Miller don’t get sworn-in it would leave chairman David Sorensen alone. Sorensen has two years on his term.
“I don’t want to let the taxpayers down and I don’t want to let the employees down but something has to be done,” said Sorensen in an interview. “I’d be crazy to be the only one out there.”

Babson and Sorensen say the lawsuit cost them a couple thousand dollars each and the county delegation only agreed to pay $700 for each commissioner. Sorensen said the total bill so far is around $6,000 but more bills may come in. Kenney said she is also submitting a bill for her legal expenses even though she is not being sued individually. Babson said he and Sorensen are charged every time their attorney calls Kenney.   Comeau removed Kenney from the lawsuit in order to save time and money. Comeau said the lawsuit has cost him $8,900.

Methinks it is time to go yak with Ed – NO one spends coin like that unless some real stupid stuff has been going on.  Watching the current Belknap County Commissioners doing their best reenactment of the Keystone Kops shows that it happens.

“91-A is the cornerstone of transparency in government,” said Comeau adding that he’s had commissioners admit on camera that their meeting minute archive is “a mess.”   Sorensen said the delegation would be responsible for filling vacancies on the board.   Delegation chair Karen Umberger (R-Conway) is asking the Secretary of State about their options.   Sorensen said the county has been hit with a number of 91-A requests over the last few years but the rate at which they have been filed has slowed.

Er, maybe because your processes have tightened up a tad, sir?  Open and Transparent SHOULD be the goal of all elected officials where ANYTHING and EVERYTHING has an audit trail that can be easily reviewed by the common man – it protects us AND it protects you.  When Government decides to NOT embrace those two attributes, tyranny results.

…Rep. Gene Chandler (R-Bartlett) supported paying the commission’s legal fees. He made a motion that the delegation would pay their legal fees.   “We can’t expect, in my opinion, elected officials whether it’s us or them to cover the cost of things like that,” said Chandler. “It’s just not right in my opinion.”   Chandler withdrew his motion after some representatives suggested they wait to see how the case is resolved.  At Monday’s delegation meeting, Rep. Frank McCarthy wanted to delay making a decision until the case is resolved. McCarthy doesn’t want to set a precedence that the delegation will always cover Right to Know expenses.

That puts the private citizen at a disadvantage to bring up problems that they might have,” said McCarthy. “I think we should wait until the case is fully adjudicated and then make a decision. Were they wrong? Were they right? Did they do anything wrong? If not, we’ll pay the fees.”

Smart man, McCarthy.  If the suit is baseless, pay.  If deliberate malfeasance is ferreted out, bring out the tar and feathers!

Comeau (R-Brookfield) said the county’s performance audit demonstrates that the case he brought is justified.  “When you don’t follow the rule of law, they are not going to cover that,” said Comeau who recused himself from the discussion.   At a commission meeting, Comeau said he felt the Right to Know law suit was his only recourse. In fact, Comeau said he dropped his prior Right to Know lawsuit because he thought the commission was going to become more open but when the behavior continued, he filed another lawsuit.

And NO public official should be clueless when one of the few tools that are in a dogged citizen’s quiver is used.  Overall, RTKs are generally few when “a shop” is being run entirely above board – this smacks of “we promise we’ll be good – until we don’t have to anymore”.

People make mistakes,” said Crawford. “If the public really knew we were not covered for making mistakes, who would want this job? Nobody would want this job.”

WRONG WRONG WRONG – an RTK may be filed to find out how the mistake was made….but when the RTK is not honestly honored in both spirit and letter of the law, THEN the lawsuit gets files.  Never forget – it’s the COVERUP that is wilfull and maliciously done in order to protect the guilty.

Rep. Glenn Cordelli (R-Tuftonboro) said it would be “dangerous” to get involved with covering Right to Know lawsuits because the commissioners wouldn’t have any incentive to follow the law.   “The public’s right to know trumps that,” said Cordelli about commissioners’ need for coverage.

Let’s put it this way – when it is the county taxpayers money on the line and only that, things can get sloppy and elected / appointed officials CAN think “hey, no skin outa my wallet!” and just keep truckin’ on with nary a care.

Making it personal means that skin could be ripped off by a gavel’s slam – and provides the incentive to strive for excellence in Openness and Transparency.

Which causes the rate of issued RTKs to plummet.  See?  Problem solved.
 

>