I urge readers of this post to e-mail Ms. Furth at her law firm's e-mail address to come clean on this matter.
from john johns
to wfurth@mhalaw.com
Dear Ms. Furth:
I have become an avid reader of the Almanac News as of late. There are two reasons for this. The newspaper's reporting is excellent and there has been no shortage of stories as of late coming from my former employer, the Town of Atherton.
I have also been impressed how the Almanac News calls things as they see them. The Almanac News may not always be completely accurate in their reporting. However, in all fairness to the Almanac, to do so is an impossibility because the quality of news a newspaper reports is a function of the quality of the information reporters are being fed. Unfortunately sometimes reporters are not always fed the straight scoop.
It is for the above reason that I am resolved to help the Almanac news be more thorough and accurate in its reporting. I do this by taking the initiative to submit public records requests and to cross check the information in statements made by public officials with the official record.
Occasionally and regrettably information comes to my attention through these public records requests (17 of which I have submitted to Atherton during the past month) which suggests a public official has lied. When this happens I find it important to bring this condition to the attention of the news media. By doing so, papers such as the Almanac News can assess the reliability of their sources.
The purpose of this note is to call your attention to the fact that you, Ms. Furth appear to have been caught in a lie.
I know that some would consider that lying to be a lawyer's stock in trade. I do not share this belief. I believe that an attorney, especially one who works in the public sector has a duty to tell the truth when it comes to the conduct of elected officials.
The facts and circumstances concerning your apparent dishonesty are as follows:
In the newspaper article accessible via the following link, Web Link it is reported that you "consulted with other attorneys (emphasis added)":
This article also quotes you as saying "The consensus was that this is the kind of work that is typically done in-house,"
In short, you have given Ms. Batti and by extension the readers of the Almanac News the impression that you had consulted with more than one city attorney and that the majority of those attorneys with whom you spoke indicated that the kind of review that was called for was "typically done in-house".
To the above point I call to your attention the Town's response to my public records request. In this response a copy of your firm's billing statement has been provided. In that billing statement, which is heavily redacted, there is only one other attorney identified with whom you apparently spoke with regarding whether or not to conduct an in-house review of how Ms. Lewis' permit was processed.
I must ask you Ms. Furth, is there such a thing as having "consensus" amongst just one person?
Additionally, this invoice indicates that, in addition to there only being one other attorney with whom you spoke, this attorney was a fellow partner in your law firm who serves as the city attorney for Davis, California. In other words you seem to have managed to be so selective in your consultation with other "attorneys" that your firm was paid twice (once for your time and once for the time of Ms. Steiner) for this consultation on this matter.
As Mr. Gibboney stated in his editorial which is provided herein for your reference:
Web Link
It is time to clear the air on the Lewis house. It is also time to clear the air on your own credibility.
I challenge you to provide a list of those city attorneys that you consulted with and upon which you based your determination that it was ordinary and customary for you to conduct an in-house review of Ms. Lewis permit, rather than to perform an outside investigation.
I would also ask that you provide Ms. Batti and Mr. Gibboney a status report on what appears to be an issue of life safety at 33 Emilie, the home of Charles Marsala. As you may recall I brought to Mr. Cushing's attention the fact that his interior remodeling project appears to have included the movement of load bearing walls, without the necessary structural calculations having been performed.
I would hate to see the roof come crashing down on Mr. Marsala and his luminary guests during one of his many parties he holds.
I await your response Ms. Furth
Respectfully submitted,
John P. Johns, CPA
Former Finance Director,
Town of Atherton
