If you think a Town Meeting is an opportunity to show residents how hung up you are on the spanking you got (and deserved), welcome to Londonderry. Town manager Michael Malaguti is reported to have taken the opportunity to attack his detractors.
Related: Londonderry Needs a Town Manager That isn’t a Whiny Little Bitch
Town Manager Michael Malaguti began his ‘State of the Town Address’ at the Town Deliberative Session by launching into an attack against residents who have asked for accountability and transparency at Town Council meetings. Malaguti believes we are in a ‘battle for the soul of our community’ against a small group of individuals with an agenda. Malaguti also attacked former Town Councilor Deb Paul and the Londonderry Times.
A battle that includes “his” town engaging in expensive and frivolous lawsuits.
This case involves a frivolous complaint of sexual harassment, brought in apparent bad faith. The complaint was brought by the highest administrative officer of a town. He brought the complaint against an elected official to have her censured for what she said at an ontherecord, public hearing. The views she expressed, and the language that she used, was constitutionally and statutorily protected political speech. …
Instead of taking the opportunity to repent past wrongs that included lawfare and the active suppression of the right to free speech and government transparency, Malaguti abandoned bridge building and corrective internal action for a cheap shot with no opportunity for rebuttal to the same audience.
He did go on to praise a wide range of groups and individuals, but the question Londonderry residents should be asking is, when will (and the town) turn against me? It doesn’t appear to take much. All you need to do is challenge their use of tax dollars, their authority, and how they handle right-to-know requests—things citizens are expected to do to keep any level of government accountable. And you’d best do it quickly. HB1002, which would allow them to charge you for the right to hold them accountable, is co-sponsored by at least one NH House Rep. from Londonderry.
There were likely conversations about the cost of obstructing citizen inquiry and how it might be possible to profit from the practice.
They don’t want you to know, but if you do and you persist, who knows, Malaguti might whine about you asking your public servants uncomfortable questions.
You might even want to make that a goal.
