The Hatch Act
Apparently the Mayor was threatened by our Ice Cream Social….
Banners to promote a community event to hear from Fire Chief Gavin Brown at Ryckman Park on Saturday were demanded to be removed under the threat of the Hatch Act by Mayor Dennington.
What is the Hatch Act, you ask? Quite simply, it is another loophole this Mayor is using to thwart the efforts of a grass roots movement in our Town.
“The Hatch Act forbade intimidation or bribery of voters and restricted political-campaign activities by federal employees.”
While seemingly applicable on the surface, This Act is written on the FEDERAL level. Once again, Mayor D is delusional about the application of this Act and how it could possibly affect us. Is she accusing us of bribery by ice cream?
Truth and Accuracy Matter is in direct opposition to her lies and deception. She has imposed her abuse of power by demanding the removal of the banners from public property when TAAM is merely sponsoring a fun and informative event for ALL residents to attend.
But, okay Madame Mayor… you imposed your demands. The banners were removed. But, the event will still happen. The banners will stay up on private property to promote the event. We will have a fun and informative event for ALL residents to attend. Fire Chief Gavin Brown will be our guest speaker to answer questions from the residents about the impending changes with the Fire Department.
Mayor Dennington is clearly opposed to informing the residents of the Town with the options on the table. All angles have been presented for everyone to consider and Chief Brown is doing his best to explain it… from every angle.
Ultimately, the decision is that of the COMMISSION. We elected these Commissioners to make informed decisions on behalf of their constituents. Perhaps the Mayor is afraid that she will lose yet another vote when presented on the Commission. She is incapable of making important decisions. She wants to pass it on to Referendum… in other words, cop-out on her responsibility to lead and vote on the issues facing the future of our Town.
It has been said from her most ardent supporters that, “If the Town Manager was trained properly, she would present options to the Commission…. quote from Gail Gowdy” The exact opposite is true. Look at the chart of hierarchy. The COMMISSION is responsible to direct the Town Manager. THEY should be presenting ideas, formulations, and suggestions for consideration. But, the truth is, they are not the experts. Unless they want to perform an in depth study of the situation and bring it to the public with documented information AND a solution, then they should do their due diligence on what IS being presented to them by Chief Brown in order to make an informed decision. They need to do their job! Stop passing the buck!
The truth is, it is the job of the Commission to vote on issues facing the Town and to direct the Town Manager accordingly. The Town Manager manages the departments. At her direction, department heads bring issues to her that need attention. When the VFD issue was between a rock and a hard place, Manager Mascaro directed Chief Brown to present the options that he saw as appropriate for his department. He did so at two separate Commission meetings… in depth and with detailed documentation. His recommendation was clear. First Meeting Second Meeting
Let’s also be clear about the intention and the activity of this PAC. We are not telling people how to think. We are not telling people how to vote. We are providing information that has been fact-checked and documented. And we are sponsoring events that will give the residents more chances to engage as a community. The question is, why WOULDN’T the Mayor want that too?
Join us on Saturday July 19th from 1:00 - 4:00 at Ryckman Park to listen to Chief Brown.