Comments

• On the Blog Post School Committee Candidate Offers Thanks and Congratulations, Encourages Involvement

  

  

  Justin Katz

  10:17 am on Saturday, February 16, 2013

  Just to clarify, in case you aren't familiar with it: George Orwell's 1984 is not a religious book.

• On the Blog Post School Committee Candidate Offers Thanks and Congratulations, Encourages Involvement

  

  

  Justin Katz

  10:15 am on Saturday, February 16, 2013

  Renee,

  I do not know why so many parents do not come forward; I can only say that many see that as the safest way forward. I'll offer that your experience and fraulein Crist's might not be the best gauge, inasmuch as you tend to align with the same side, politically, as the teachers and school department. That's not an attack or complaint; it's just an important bit of context in this discussion.

  And I definitely agree that "there's a problem." It appears from this thread that the principal of Ranger knows who at least one such parent is. Shouldn't a professional administrator charged with helping children and their parents through the anxiety-ridden years of early education be concerned about what message is getting out to people?

• On the Blog Post School Committee Candidate Offers Thanks and Congratulations, Encourages Involvement

  

  

  Justin Katz

  9:42 am on Saturday, February 16, 2013

  I wouldn't support your suggestion, but I would definitely support some sort of appeals process short of a second charter complaint. That's the underlying problem, here.

  The town clerk essentially invented a charter complaint process that is different from the steps described in the charter. That freed the town council to throw up its hands and duck the responsibility to review her decision, saying the charter didn't grant them that authority. (Obviously, there's no reason it would, if the clerk was doing something not in the charter.)

  If there had been some appeals process through the municipal court that didn't entail complaining of a charter violation, I'd have gladly taken that approach. For that matter, I'd have taken any other approach, but everybody seemed to agree that only a complaint would do.

  I've voted for Nancy Mello twice, and I expect I'll do so again. But preserving the ability of residents of Tiverton to bring complaints against elected officials and employees is just too important. If you look at the list of people who've filed complaints in the past, they can hardly be said to be my allies: Mike Burk, Deb Pallasch, Don Bollin, Laura Epke. Brian Medeiros frequently threatened charter complaints over the past several years. All of these people should continue to have access to the process without fear that a clerk will thwart and embarrass them.

• On the Blog Post School Committee Candidate Offers Thanks and Congratulations, Encourages Involvement

  

  

  Justin Katz

  9:08 am on Saturday, February 16, 2013

  I don't know how much money you make, but being liable for legal fees... especially when the first hurdle that a complaint must clear is the politically elected Town Council... would be an insurmountable risk even in the most clear-cut cases of violations. (Honestly, I think my complaint is about as clear-cut as they come, as I'll argue on March 11.)

• On the Blog Post School Committee Candidate Offers Thanks and Congratulations, Encourages Involvement

  

  

  Justin Katz

  9:02 am on Saturday, February 16, 2013

  And what kind of person attacks others for trying to gather winter gear for poor children? You're like a cartoon. Unbelievable.

• On the Blog Post School Committee Candidate Offers Thanks and Congratulations, Encourages Involvement

  

  

  Justin Katz

  8:51 am on Saturday, February 16, 2013

  It is disconcerting how many parents are afraid to come forward when they aren't happy with something that's going on in the school. I would think that people who care about the community would take that problem seriously, whatever their political views. But then, it's the fruit of a bullying union and bullying administrators. And it's clearly your strategy and that of those who join you in kicking off these mean, angry comment threads unrelated to anything that appears in a months' old article.

  No discussion of the merits of the complaint. No concerns about people or about the possibility that I might have a point, even if I'm an evil union basher. Political opponents must be destroyed. An example must be made of anybody who dares to hold a different view. Everybody should think twice before stepping forward to speak against the Establishment.

  You bring to mind a passage out of George Orwell's 1984: "His reason told him that there must be exceptions, but his heart did not believe it. [Women of the Party] were all impregnable, as the Party intended that they should be."

• On the Blog Post School Committee Candidate Offers Thanks and Congratulations, Encourages Involvement

  

  

  Justin Katz

  8:39 am on Saturday, February 16, 2013

  The clerk has made her office capable of dismissing charter complaints based on her own judgment after an inadequate review of evidence. I don't believe Mrs. Mello is acting politically, but she won't be clerk forever, and this precedent will give future clerks the ability to protect their political allies in town government.

  As for your proposal, that would be a significant constraint on the ability of the people of Tiverton to act as watchdogs over their government. Town employees' are represented at taxpayer expense and face a maximum fine of $300. Requiring townspeople to pay for legal fees would make even worse the problem that Solicitor Teitz is amplifying, here, where his deficient advice to Mrs. Mello in the original matter now has the town paying for three lawyers. It's quite a racket!

• On the Blog Post School Committee Candidate Offers Thanks and Congratulations, Encourages Involvement

  

  

  Justin Katz

  8:33 am on Saturday, February 16, 2013

  I don't expect you to believe anything. You're so full of hatred that you'd doubt me if I said that the Sakonnet River Bridge has been replaced.

  As I said, I would absolutely be following up with this matter, whatever had happened during the election. As for "intimidating," I had a long and friendly discussion with Mrs. Mello about my concerns back in early December (or so). She agreed that the only recourse would be a charter complaint, and she understands why I'm pursuing it.

  My reference to the unions was not with regard to the elections, but to the four years of organized aggression that my victory would have subjected me to. My personality may be what it is, but the teachers' union in particular was illustrating how bullying it could be long before I appeared on the scene.

• On the Blog Post School Committee Candidate Offers Thanks and Congratulations, Encourages Involvement

  

  

  Justin Katz

  11:11 pm on Friday, February 15, 2013

  Tell me, bigmanny, does it make you feel powerful that parents of students at Ranger school (and others) are afraid to speak up about inappropriate activities under the principal's watch because they fear retribution against their children?

  Isn't that a circumstance that any administrator with integrity should be very, very concerned to remedy? Of course, I ask that rhetorically, given that you comment anonymously, prefer insults to argument, and utter divisive nonsense that people with whom you disagree "seek to destroy" the town.

  And yes, I would absolutely be going forward with this complaint under any electoral circumstances. Maintaining the ability of residents to file complaints against town officials and their employees is just too important.

• On the Blog Post School Committee Candidate Offers Thanks and Congratulations, Encourages Involvement

  

  

  Justin Katz

  8:09 pm on Friday, February 15, 2013

  2,458

  http://www.ri.gov/election/results/2012/general_election/tiverton/

  The idea that I'm bitter at having lost is laughable. The anger and pettiness of the "Tiverton First" crowd (who couldn't be bothered to show up at the bridge toll hearing, by the way) is crystal clear, as are the personal attacks and viciousness. Four years of union-backed vitriol had I won was going to make for a painful period of public service. I feel badly for the students and the taxpayers, but I'm happy to be able to spend my time on other things.

  As for my charter complaint, it really and truly shows how little thinking you folks are willing to do that you reduce it to partisan bickering. This is about protecting the charter complaint process so that town clerks can't run interference for their political allies. That sword can cut both ways.