I'm sorry to say that Kelly, Hayward, Rich and Katie should all resign. Their wanton breach of the Brown Act and blatant disregard for using their City email addresses to send and receive email NOT pertaining to City business (much less to attack other candidates, plan election strategy, etc.) is absolutely deplorable. I was going to vote for rich and hayward, but I'm so sick of the polar politics in MP that freshness on the council is welcome. We should demand better of our elected officials. I remember when Kelly accused another council member of the same thing - she's a hypocrite.

The Post did a followup story on Page 1 of today's (10/19/2010) paper; also by David DeBolt

Link is:

Web Link

Why make a big deal about A. Cohen when you have this kind of breach going on? I agree, the politics in this town are dirty. Just look at the Bohannan endorcement hand in hand with these candidates - something smells ROTTEN. It stinks. Just stinks. Kelly, Rich, Hayward, I expect better from you. Gail, well she's just covering for Mitch's endorcement of Measure T, because it stinks too.

Elizabeth is so right!

That these elected officials would use their official Menlo Park email for political purposes is despicable and deserves further investigation. The fact that these officials sent emails to each other is a "black letter law" violation of the Brown Act.

And if Menlo Park City Attorney, Dan Siegel, doesn't know that it is a violation of the Brown Act for Council Members to send emails to multiple members of the City Council (that specific example is noted in the Act and there is no exception for non-agendized issues as he suggests), then this city is in far worse shape than anyone suspected.

What a horrendous display of political arrogance. These officials owe the City an apology and their attendance at a Brown Act tutorial. Perhaps a new City Council will show Mr. Siegel the door.

And I thought the City Attorney was there to protect all citizens. Silly me.

POGO:

the Atherton city council, Sequoia school district, etc, etc have already demonstrated that the San Mateo DA doesn't give a hoot about violations of the Brown Act. Unfortunately, the Brown Act has become a paper tiger. Politicians violate it at will with no repurcutions. It's sad really. Until a DA with some stones or an AG with same decide they are going to do something about it, nothing will change. I'm not holding my breath.

List the violations of each council member please.

I will start.

Andy Cohen, sexual harassment.

Who is next?

Kelly Fergusson, Brown Act violation for using official email for electioneering and serial meetings

Unfortunately any law suits on Brown Act violations in San Mateo County must be filed by and funded by individual citizens as the District Attorney refuses to do so.

"54960.1. Violation of Act; Actions declared null and void
(a) The district attorney or any interested person may commence an action by mandamus or injunction for the purpose of obtaining a judicial determination that an action taken by a legislative
body of a local agency in violation of Section 54953, 54954.2, 54954.5, 54954.6, 54956, or 54956.5 is null and void under this section."

Andy needs to go down for his actions. Andy denial of that is just purely political. If Heyward made the same comment, you all would be marching the streets.

I cannot believe Peter Carpenter sucks his thumb through this after all his self righteous commentary over the years. If this doesn't prove to all of you how Peter is just a guard dog for his politicians, I don't know what does...

Sexual harassment is a non issue?

Truth - I am not sucking my thumb - I have already spent $5000 on my legal actions against Brown Act violations. What have you spent???

Talk is so cheap.....why doesn't Truth put up or shut up?

It's now pretty clear to me that the brouhaha over an innocent if misguided comment by council member Cohen is merely a lame effort to erect a smokescreen in hopes that we all overlook this major violation of the Brown Act and misuse of public property.

Now that Bohannon has issued his party invitation, we can infer the source of a chunk of Heyward/Rich's campaign funding. Do we really want councilmembers who flout the law and are beholden to developers? Run, Menlo Park voters, and choose anyone but Heyward and Rich.

The sad thing is that I supported them 100% in 2006, walked my feet off dropping literature for them, made campaign phone calls. They have betrayed their base.

Peter,
Is there anyway we can pressure/cause the District Attorney to enforce Brown Act Violations?

Can the citizen be reimbursed for cost from the DA funds?

Can County funds be used?

Unfortunately there is no way that citizens can force the DA to do anything - except by voting him out of office.

Private costs can be claimed in a civil suit but will only be paid if the suit wins.

"54960.5. Costs and attorney fees
A court may award court costs and reasonable attorney fees to the plaintiff in an action brought pursuant to Section 54960 or 54960.1 where it is found that a legislative body of the local agency has
violated this chapter. The costs and fees shall be paid by the local agency and shall not become a personal liability of any public officer or employee of the local agency.

A court may award court costs and reasonable attorney fees to a defendant in any action brought pursuant to Section 54960 or 54960.1 where the defendant has prevailed in a final determination of such action and the court finds that the action was clearly frivolous and totally lacking in merit."

I cannot fathom why anyone would think that the sending of some emails that did not pertain to city business would trump sexual harassment of a council member to a resident!

Let's see-- Cohen basically tells a resident with business before the council that he'll help her because she's good looking, but people are ready to tar and feather other council members who sent some emails (non scandalous) from their home computer (not city property) using a domain name of the city. It was already analyzed by the city attorney and the emails were found NOT to have violated the Brown Act.
This is just a fishing expedition to attack some council members.

Priorities, please!

Another Menlo Voter states:"I cannot fathom why anyone would think that the sending of some emails that did not pertain to city business would trump sexual harassment of a council member to a resident!"

PLEASE read the entire thread - the topic of THIS thread is "City Hall Email Used for Politics: Messages give behind-the-scenes view of campaigns" NOT sexual harassment.

The council member in question Kelly F. used her city email address to campaign aagainst a ballot initiative (Measure L) with Heyward Robinson and Rich Cline. This is a simple math problem,quorum in MPK is 3 council members, by having a conversation about a topic theat has come before council with three of more members (called a serial meeting) you have violated the Brown Act. She later says dhe didn't know, not a valid response. She needs to be prosecuted.

She as a serious disregard for the law.

Roy

As noted above the DA will NOT pursue Brown Act violations. Sadly in San Mateo County that responsibility then falls to individual citizens.
I will gladly pledge $1000 to a Brown Act violation fund - anyone else prepared to contribute?

Another Menlo Voter - you are SO wrong. Using your official email for electioneering or serial meetings is a serious violation. Ms. Fergusson knows the rules; she just doesn't care and apparently neither does the Menlo Park City Attorney. Using city email (and getting the cache of official business) It is very big deal - don't you know that even a member of Congress cannot even solicit campaign donations from their offices? You should re-read the entire article. Attorneys knowledgeable about the Brown Act have no doubt that this is a serious violation.

With regard to Mr. Cohen, what he said is deplorable, not a violation of law. He is a boor.

Mr. Carpenter, I'm in for a grand. It would be nice to see some Menlo Park citizens take an interest in their own town's corruption.

OK, we now have $2k of seed money for a Citizens Brown Act Violation Fund to be used to put pressure on our local governments and our elected officials to 'cure and correct' their Brown Act violations and, more important, to encourage our local governments and our elected officials to begin adhering to both the spirit and the letter of the Brown Act.

Hopefully others will join in with pledges and a public spirited lawyer conversant in the Brown Act will agree to serve as our legal representative. The mere existence of a significant Fund and a skillful attorney will probably encourage some change in behavior.