Middletown Forum : Chicanery behind closed doors

Chicanery behind closed doors : The attorneys on council,you would...

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 15:40:10 +0000

Author: over the hill
Subject: 4907
Posted: Dec 04 2012 at 3:40pm

The attorneys on council,you would think, would caution them in the folly of their ways. OOPS, There I go again ,thinking!

Chicanery behind closed doors : VV Apparently not. That was the...

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 15:36:42 +0000

Author: over the hill
Subject: 4907
Posted: Dec 04 2012 at 3:36pm

VV Apparently not. That was the imformation given to me by the person I spoke to at the AGO. I too mistakenly thought they would be interested. WELL THAT'S WHAT I GET FOR THINKING.

Chicanery behind closed doors : over the hill wrote:attorney...

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 14:37:56 +0000

Author: VietVet
Subject: 4907
Posted: Dec 04 2012 at 2:37pm

over the hill wrote:

attorney general's office can't help us here. You would need to handle this with a private attorney. In other words bring suit against city council. Don't we have a couple of attorneys on council? HMMM......

If you are correct over the hill, as citizens, we will never get all on the same page, much less contribute to the attorney's fees to represent us against the city. The two attorneys on council would be indicting themselves if they intervened on behalf of the people. They are willing participants in the "executive session/hidden agenda" program. They are part of the problem and not the solution.

Mike stated the source being the Attorney General. If there is a violation of their laws, wouldn't they be the slight bit interested?

Chicanery behind closed doors : attorney general's office...

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 13:59:16 +0000

Author: over the hill
Subject: 4907
Posted: Dec 04 2012 at 1:59pm

attorney general's office can't help us here. You would need to handle this with a private attorney. In other words bring suit against city council. Don't we have a couple of attorneys on council? HMMM......

Chicanery behind closed doors : "Now, according to past Ohio...

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 11:29:34 +0000

Author: VietVet
Subject: 4907
Posted: Dec 04 2012 at 11:29am

"Now, according to past Ohio Attorneys General:

“a public body may adjourn into executive session to consider the sale of real or personal property by competitive bid ONLY if disclosure of the information would result in a competitive advantage to the a person whose personal, private interest is adverse to the general public interest. No member of a public body may use this exception as subterfuge to provide covert information to prospective buyers or sellers.”

Be nice to pick up the phone, call the Atty. General's office and fax them the agenda item for their info and inform them that the discussion will be held out of public view. Perhaps if they receive the info. early enough, they can come down from Columbus and observe also. OR......maybe they won't care at all to enforce their laws.

Chicanery behind closed doors : How Did the Founders...

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 08:33:15 +0000

Author: Mike_Presta
Subject: 4907
Posted: Dec 04 2012 at 8:33am

How Did the Founders Feel About Open Government?

"Information is the currency of democracy." ...Thomas Jefferson

"The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their

rulers may be concealed from them . . . To cover with the veil of secrecy the common routine

of business, is an abomination in the eyes of every intelligent man." ...Patrick Henry

"A popular government without popular information, or the means of

acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy, or perhaps both.

Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to

be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which

knowledge gives." ...James Madison

"Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people, who

have a right and a desire to know; but besides this, they have a right, an indisputable,

divine right to that most dreaded and envied kind of knowledge, I mean of the

characters and conduct of their rulers." ...John Adams

Chicanery behind closed doors : Once again tonight,...

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 08:20:22 +0000

Author: Mike_Presta
Subject: 4907
Posted: Dec 04 2012 at 8:20am

Once again tonight, they will be going into the seemingly obligatory executivesession to discuss “the sale of property at competitive bidding”!!!

Now, according to past Ohio Attorneys General:

“a public body may adjourn into executivesession to consider the sale of real or personal property by competitive bid ONLY ifdisclosure of the information would result in a competitive advantage to the aperson whose personal, private interest is adverse to the general publicinterest. No member of a public body may use this exception as subterfuge to providecovert information to prospective buyers or sellers.”

So, if they haven’t even decided to sell a property yet, how coulddiscussing it in the open possibly give one person a “competitive advantage??? Only discussing it in PRIVATE and LEAKING informationcould do that…or discussing it in private with a possible single buyer or athird party.

The only way to PREVENTgiving anyone a competitive advantage is to hold ALL discussions in PUBLIC!!!

The only possible reason for holding such discussions in private is to prevent public outrage until they can conjure up a plausible cover story for their risky schemes.

We already know, for a fact, that the sale of airport property has been disclosed to a SINGLE PROSPECTIVE BUYER before the sale of this public property was EVER discussed by council in open meetings, thereby giving him a competitive advantage!!!

Edited by Mike_Presta - Dec 04 2012 at 8:24am