Civic Accountability -- Honesty in Local Government IV

[Mark Kindt]

Harassment and Intimidation of Citizens

and

Impairment of Free Speech

I want take a moment and summarize what I know about the harassment and intimidation of local citizens who are critical of the public policies of the city administration.

1. Public officials organized themselves and others in a smear campaign to file a series of false complaints to the Lakewood Police Department against a pro-hospital citizen.

2. Pro-hospital citizens were sent harassing postal mail by a city employee.

3. Citizens critical of city policies had to defend themselves and expend funds to fight subpoenas related to a SLAPP lawsuit.

4. The Lakewood Observer had to defend itself and expend funds to fight a SLAPP lawsuit.

5. The Lakewood Observer was / is banned from Lakewood City Hall.

6. Thoughtful comment critical of city administration policies, such as the pit bull ordinance, is deleted from the Lakewood Community group page on facebook.

7. Some citizens have been blocked from this group page.

8. One or more partisans of the city administration created a false government document to harass a local citizen as recently as this past Friday.

These are only the incidents that I am aware of. Others are much closer to this experience than I am. If you have been the victim of such harassment, I encourage you to stand-up and speak-out.

If you are aware of other wrong-doing in the city administration, I encourage you to stand-up and speak-out.

This pattern runs across three years. We need to be vocal about this with our elected representatives and at the ballot box.

These are among the reasons that I am calling for widespread municipal reform in Lakewood.

[Jim O'Bryan]

Mark

I have not seen you for awhile BUT...

Last week the city issued a document that told City Workers what they can and can't post on their personal websites or FB pages, even when not on the clock!

ESPECIALLY if it is critical of City Hall.

The fascist state of Lakewood continues to grow and get more and more ugly.

I will post the document next week.

The City has no choice but try control any and all information they have not approved out.

The city worker I spoke to I mentioned we have an expert in First Amendment Law, and I think Raymond is about to get a hell of a lawsuit!

.

[Bridget Conant]

Last week the city issued a document that told City Workers what they can and can't post on their personal websites or FB pages, even when not on the clock!

Meanwhile, Jen Pae runs amok with her fake "community page."

[m buckley]

Last week the city issued a document that told City Workers what they can and can't post on their personal websites or FB pages, even when not on the clock!

Meanwhile, Jen Pae runs amok with her fake "community page."

Good ol' Jen Pae.
The Nurse Ratched of Lakewood municipal government.

[cmager]

...Last week the city issued a document that told City Workers what they can and can't post on their personal websites or FB pages, even when not on the clock! ESPECIALLY if it is critical of City Hall. The fascist state of Lakewood continues to grow and get more and more ugly.

I will post the document next week.

The City has no choice but try control any and all information they have not approved out. The city worker I spoke to I mentioned we have an expert in First Amendment Law, and I think Raymond is about to get a hell of a lawsuit!
.

Why wait?

[Jim O'Bryan]

Good ol' Jen Pae.
The Nurse Ratched of Lakewood municipal government.

M Buckley

You are being so unfair to her.

Nurse Ratched had professional credentials for what she did.


C. Mager

2 reasons, 1) we have a ton of stuff hitting the Deck tomorrow. 2) It, like the LOI was read to me on the phone, I get my copy next week.

.

[Mark Kindt]

Let's start with a refresher:

Amendment 1, U.S. Constitution:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Section 11, Ohio Constitution

Every citizen may freely speak, write, and publish his sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of the right; and no law shall be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech, or of the press.

This is our starting point for this series of posts. Freedom of speech and of the press are anchored as fundamental rights in both constitutions.

[Mark Kindt]

One or more partisans of the city administration created a false government document to harass a local citizen as recently as this past Friday.

No matter what the purpose of this effort, it was sophisticated, devious, and illegal.

It directly targeted a fellow citizen-journalist who writes here regularly with criticism of the city administration and its policies.

Each individual who posts on the Deck has a fundamental constitutional right to criticize public officials and public policies.

I freely make the inference that "partisans of the city administration" had a hand in this harassment.

I make that inference based on my understanding of the content of the posts made by the citizen-journalist who was targeted for harassment.

It stuns me that this is actually how public discourse is conducted in our city.

No veteran has ever earned the Purple Heart in defense of our nation, so that a fellow citizen could be so outrageously harassed.

The false Attorney General's Office press release is completely off-the-map. I hope this matter is fully and successfully investigated and prosecuted to conviction.

[Dan Alaimo]

If anyone doubts what Mark writes about the personal harassment by those purporting to represent the city government, I'd like to remind all that I went public with my experience of it awhile ago. It is thoroughly documented - I didn't add any subjective interpretation - and in the case of the follow up harassment I experienced, a report was made to the LPD, which has a file on the perp.
Here's what I wrote:
http://lakewoodobserver.com/forum/viewt ... eau+alaimo

[Mark Kindt]

Public Discourse On-Line

Now just to take a moment to belabor the obvious:

As a citizen, I take the time to write about public issues on the Deck.

And, as a citizen, if you disagree, you take the time to write about public issues on the Deck.

It is as simple as that. We are all citizens of this community and we exchange our views with mutual respect--even when we disagree.

In fact, as citizens we actually agree to defend our mutual rights to disagree. Ask any veteran.

I'll even defend your right to use harsh words against my opinions.

That's how we do this in a democracy.

[Mark Kindt]

Appeal Filed in the Taxpayer Lawsuit

This morning the Taxpayers filed their appeal in the Ohio Eighth Appellate District.

The first 11 pages of the brief provide an excellent summary and chronology of the hospital debacle.

Compliments to the Taxpayers and their legal counsel for all of their commitment and hard work.

Appellate Brief is attached.

[Lori Allen _]

Just about everyone involved with trying to save the hospital and exposing all of the alleged corruption in Lakewood has been a victim in one way or another.
I am constantly being followed. That is why I have dash cams. My children have also been followed on the RTA and at school by a city hall employee.
How about a street cleaner sitting in front of your house at 1:30 in the morning?

I believe these are tactics ordered by Mr. Summers. I choose not to be intimidated by him and his accomplices.

You all need to stand up to him. No reason to be afraid. He is a coward and a bully!

[Mark Kindt]

Taxpayer Bailout and Taxpayer Subsidies –- all “legally” off-the-books

Thousands of words and hundreds of paragraphs have now been written about the hospital debacle. I’m sure a few more won’t hurt.

One of the peculiar flukes of the hospital transaction is the way it has been reported in the City’s accounting. There is no hospital on the City’s books. (The hospital sat on the books at Lakewood Hospital Association.)

The hospital transaction was structured and was presented to the public in a such a way that the City’s acknowledged ownership rights and their value were effectively obscured.

(It was also structured in such a way that a federal Hart-Scott-Rodino filing was not made.)

This is one reason I have previously argued in my first series of "Honesty in Local Government I" that the transaction and its value were improperly misrepresented in violation of the federal securities laws to the detriment of the bond-reporting agencies and those who hold Lakewood municipal bonds (creating a litigation risk for the City.)

Had the hospital and its assets been carried on the City’s books, we would have had a much better understanding of both its book value and the dollar value of the its sale.

More importantly, we would have had the kind of transparency that would have let us make intelligent judgments about the transfer of these liquidated public assets to private entities.

[Mark Kindt]

The Taxpayer Subsidy to the New Foundation

Once formed, the New Foundation will be a private entity. Neither the City of Lakewood, nor any other governmental agency will manage or control it.

Public documents (posted elsewhere on the Deck) show that the New Foundation will receive $32,200,000 from the liquidation of publicly-owned assets.

This is a direct taxpayer subsidy of $32,200,000 to a private entity that does not yet exist—an entity without a defined plan or purpose.

[Jim O'Bryan]

The Taxpayer Subsidy to the New Foundation

Once formed, the New Foundation will be a private entity. Neither the City of Lakewood, nor any other governmental agency will manage or control it.

Public documents (posted elsewhere on the Deck) show that the New Foundation will receive $32,200,000 from the liquidation of publicly-owned assets.

This is a direct taxpayer subsidy of $32,200,000 to a private entity that does not yet exist—an entity without a defined plan or purpose.

Mark

That is if we believe the charade, that this group planned for 10 years with no end game.

That is even scarier than doing it with an endgame in mind.

.