The Observation Deck

Bill Call wrote:Councilman O’Malley, you have made some posts here on the Observer about Lakewood Hospital and the development of the Hospital site. Thank you for taking part. I have some questions.

I have attached an email provided in a response to a public records request. As you can see, nothing was provided. Whenever a Lakewood taxpayer requests information about the Hospital deal the response is generally what you see below.

Is that acceptable to you?
Will you support the full release of all the requested documents?
Will you support calls to have the redacted portions of the emails publically released?
Will you support an independent investigation into the loss of the Hospital?

Many people wish to move on. I am one of those people. However, until we have a complete and honest investigation into the conduct of the Hospital Board and City officials I will not move on.

Is what you see below an acceptable response to a public records request?

Dan OMalley wrote: The short answer to your final question about the record you’ve posted is “yes” since it appears to be a privileged communication between two city officials and the city’s attorney. Yeah it’s redacted. What am I missing? I disagree with your characterization that this is “generally what you see” in released records though I confess to not having reviewed them all.

Mark - as I have stated before, I support an independent appraisal of the former hospital site's value.

Thank you.

Dan O’Malley
Personal cell - 440.552.7234
Daniel.OMalley@lakewoodoh.net

I have great respect for Mr. O'Malley and his participation on the Deck, but many times he is a bit like Mr. Anderson and provides "Drive By", incomplete and superficial responses here.

Here are few things that Mr. O'Malley may be missing:

1. The redacted public record that Mr. Call is referring to above was submitted under seal to the Cuyahoga County Court of Appeals together with thousands of other redacted records with no explanation or detail are required by the Records Laws.

2. The thousands redacted records were submitted to the Court nearly a year or more after the requests and only after an intervening Court Order even though the City is now on record that is has software to retrieve and produce emails in a "matter of minutes".

3. My lawyers and I are arguing in the Court that the City has not complied with the Court Order and Records Statute by fauiling to provide the specific reasons for the redactions.

4. The City and Kevin Butler have refused to cooperate with me in good faith at any time in the process.

5. Regarding this one record that Mr. Call is asking about, the City has not produced the attachment that came from The Cuy. County official. Is Mr. O'Malley suggesting that Mr. Lawler is Kevin Butler's client and that the attachment is somehow privileged?

6. Is Mr. O'Malley missing that there is a complete absence proof or legal authority that the two legislators and a law director discussing ballot language provided by a Board of Elections official were engaged in an attorney client discussion rather than simply preparing a proposed language for a public legislative resolution for a public referendum.

7. Is Mr. O'Malley missing that just because Kevin Butler discusses something with councilpersons, that does not make it privileged and confidential? This concerns me about Mr. O'Malley, since it seems to promote disguising normal legislative interactions by a lawyer's cloak.

During Sunshine Week, I certainty hope that Mr. O'Malley will not miss an opportunity to be completely open and transparent about all of this.

Perhaps Mr. O'Malley could take this opportunity to make a candid and public statement that he does not find the way the law director and City have handled public records completely "acceptable" and if not, he can be specific as to why and how it can be improved starting this week.

Mr. Buckley,

What is your favorite color?

Brian Essi wrote:Mr. Buckley,

What is your favorite color?

Mr. Essi,
What an interesting question.
Truth is I like a lot of colors so normally it would be hard to pick a favorite.
But this week, living in this town, there is one clear choice.
Benjamin Moore's: Sunshine 2021-30.
Hey Dan O'Malley you can pick the finish. I'll supply the brushes.
Let's get to work on that broom closet city council calls home.

NO TRUTH. NO RECONCILIATION
RELEASE ALL PUBLIC RECORDS NOW.

On Dan O'Malley and David Anderson...
My impression of Dan O'Malley is that after he took that one vote relating to the hospital deal early in his tenure, he has been an independent voice on council, generally working below the radar and in the interests of the city. He's one of the good guys. He deserves some respect when he comes on the Deck.
I've been following David Anderson for a long time and still don't know what to make of him. I've met him several times and he seems like a nice, earnest guy, but I'm often baffled by his posts on the Deck. I'm reserving judgement, but so far it's mostly negative.

And it's about time that we heard from Meghan George and Tristan Rader on the Deck. Maybe they are waiting to establish their footing on council, or maybe they see how the other council members have been greeted here and hesitate. But I'm waiting to see what they have to say here.

Mr. Alaimo,

Since we're sharing... you and I have very different takes on Dan O'Malley .

There is no reason that Mr. O’Malley has an obligation to respond to post that bears his name.

But I’m going out on limb and guessing that his favorite color today is “green”



Sunshine and Blue Sky beat green 364 days a year.

Brian Essi wrote:There is no reason that Mr. O’Malley has an obligation to respond to post that bears his name.

But I’m going out on limb and guessing that his favorite color today is “green”



Sunshine and Blue Sky beat green 364 days a year.

No doubt that today Green it is, because that's the safe play.
And that's what Dan O'Malley is all about.The safe play.The easy play.
Hail fellow well met. I'm working behind the scenes.Trust in me. Trust in that.
Bullsh*t.
His color is Redaction Black.

m buckley wrote:

Brian Essi wrote:There is no reason that Mr. O’Malley has an obligation to respond to post that bears his name.

But I’m going out on limb and guessing that his favorite color today is “green”



Sunshine and Blue Sky beat green 364 days a year.

No doubt that today Green it is, because that's the safe play.
And that's what Dan O'Malley is all about.The safe play.The easy play.
Hail fellow well met. I'm working behind the scenes.Trust in me. Trust in that.
Bullsh*t.
His color is Redaction Black.

You boys are a tad harsh.

Dan came in and answered, like it or not he answered. He is on the record,

You know, there is a small story about a council person that used to post here. At a public event with their wife and kids someone walked up to them a called them a liar, a cheat and a thief. That person no longer posts, even though they are unsure if the person calling them that were ever on the LO.

Now we can all say, they signed up for that with when they ran for office. At the same time we can understand both the embarrassment to the person and their wife, and they claim the fear that now accompanies them when they are forced into public events. All they ever did is what they thought was correct.

I have witnessed far more dirty tricks, more name calling and far more vitriol coming from the BuildLakewood side of the equation, but of course they have disbanded so it leave the LO and the Deck. I have an policy of never telling people what to post, though sometimes I ask why they did and if they really want it up there.

I would ask, what is the purpose of beating the person to death after they came in? I would ask, do we need to tar and feather Dan O'Malley for his honest opinion, and if we do that is there any chance of ever getting more or digging deeper.

Am I soft on Council? Some would say yes, history shows I am not. In the recent election of which Dan was not part of Tristan Radar, Meghan George, and Tom Bullock who immediately started his run for another office, yet again, vowed honesty, transparency and accountability from City Hall. Which is not to say Dan doesn't believe in that it is more of a let's hold them all accountable. While at the same time, if we push with too much vitriol we become the evil platform they have tried repeatedly to make us look like, through their own actions.

To that end, carry on boys and girls, just throwing some food for thought out there.

City Hall it is long past time to release the documents you have lied to everyone about, saying you "have released them all." To the members of council that ran on Honesty, Transparency, and Accountability, step up. While BSL might have been part of your platform, BSL laws or changes mean ZERO without you coming forward to fight for honesty, transparency and accountability. NOTHING

IF we cannot trust City Hall, there is no future we can count on. Everyone knows that, especially you.

.

Elected officials should always be given the respect of their office.

Elected officials should never be accosted at public events unless the event is designed for that purpose.

If you see a public official on the street just say hello, smile and nod or say nothing.

Just because you think a member of Council is wrong it does not mean he or she is the enemy.

Mr. Call, I agree with you that elected officials should never be accosted on the streets or at any public event. That's a Tom Bullock move.

Mr. O'Bryan , Dan O'Malley has cherry picked what questions he'll answer and what questions he'll avoid on The Deck since day one.
For example, I remember repeatedly asking him where he stood on Kevin Butler withholding public records . An important question. A question Mr. O'Malley refused to answer.
Mr. O'Malley has the right not to answer questions or to take tough stands.
I have the right to point out that my councilperson isn't exactley a profile in courage.

Jim O'Bryan wrote: Dan came in and answered, like it or not he answered. He is on the record,

You know, there is a small story about a council person that used to post here. At a public event with their wife and kids someone walked up to them a called them a liar, a cheat and a thief. That person no longer posts, even though they are unsure if the person calling them that were ever on the LO.

Now we can all say, they signed up for that with when they ran for office. At the same time we can understand both the embarrassment to the person and their wife, and they claim the fear that now accompanies them when they are forced into public events. All they ever did is what they thought was correct.

JOB, the fallacy of your answer is that it assumes that O'Malley and his brethren in crime are trying to do the right thing, to act as a fiduciary for their public position, to act for the public's greater good. If they did so, there would be no reason for such confrontation. I certainly would not have the temerity to confront them with their kids, but I might in other circumstances. The time has passed to let politicians smile in your face, all the while pillaging the public good will and treasury. They count on a docile public. No free passes.

m buckley wrote:

Brian Essi wrote:There is no reason that Mr. O’Malley has an obligation to respond to post that bears his name.

But I’m going out on limb and guessing that his favorite color today is “green”



Sunshine and Blue Sky beat green 364 days a year.

No doubt that today Green it is, because that's the safe play.
And that's what Dan O'Malley is all about.The safe play.The easy play.
Hail fellow well met. I'm working behind the scenes.Trust in me. Trust in that.
Bullsh*t.
His color is Redaction Black.

Between the metered verse and cryptic language I’m at times unclear on what point Mark B. is making except to get the distinct impression he’s not exactly the president of my fan club, which is OK. I have tried to clearly answer anyone’s questions here when able - including the ones Mark references - whether you share my opinion or not. I confess I don’t read every post on every thread and am simply unable to adequately engage in a lengthy, days-long back-and-forth in this medium. I frequently post my email/personal cell phone number here and urge Mark and others to call me anytime if they have further questions or issues or just want to tell me I’m wrong - rather than do so his response ironically is to call me evasive and a coward. Go figure.

Hope everyone had a happy St. Patrick’s Day, truly.

Dan, I expect elected public officials to answer questions in a direct and complete fashion.
Something you failed to do on at least two very important issues:
Tristan Rader having been purged from the Dem's club.
Kevin Butler witholding public records.
You responded but did not directly answer these questions.
I appreciate your participation on The Deck.

Dan O’Malley wrote:

The short answer to your final question about the record you’ve posted is “yes” since it appears to be a privileged communication between two city officials and the city’s attorney.

So Mr O’Malley, to clarify, you see nothing wrong with the redaction of an email between 2 city council members and the city law director discussing the language of a ballot referendum upon which residents were expected to vote? What would possibly be “privileged” in that conversation?

Also, Kevin Butler, the city law director, seems to shift between being a city employee and being the “city’s attorney,” that role, I presume, as an attorney hired to defend the city. How do we know when he is our employee, or taking an adversarial side against a resident? It seems he slips in and out if these roles as it suits him.

Elected officials should NEVER accost citizens in public places and harass and intimidate them. (See posts on Tom Bullock).
Elected officials should NEVER use the power of the police to harass and intimidate citizens. (See post on Tom Bullock)_
Elected officials should ALWAYS obey the law. That includes public records laws and open meeting laws. (See posts on Tom Bullock).

Does Councilman O’Malley disapprove of Tom Bullocks actions?
Does Councilman O’Malley disapprove of using the police to harass political opponents?
Does Councilman O’Malley approve of the Mayors refusal to release public records related to the Hospital closure?

I will take a wild guess and guess that he and other members of council don’t have a problem with any of those things, but that’s just a wild guess.