slan·der   /ˈslændər/ Show Spelled[slan-der] noun
1. defamation; calumny: rumors full of slander.
2. a malicious, false, and defamatory statement or report: a slander against his good name.
3. Law . defamation by oral utterance rather than by writing, pictures, etc.

I like City Life, having appeared on the show both has a guest and fill-in host and usually enjoy the show when Bill Taupier is a guest.

However, today former City Manager Bill Taupier wasn’t his usual entertaining self on City Life but was fast and really loose with the facts regarding the Parking Dept. controversy and may have slandered the Manager and Mayor.

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing this morning and since I was off today watched the show again at 4:00 to make sure I actually heard what I thought I heard.

Mr. Taupier made several erroneous statements and never backed them up with facts:

He stated that the Auditor and Treasurer knew in April that money was missing in the Parking Dept. and never reported it.

He stated the SUN printed that exact information

He claimed it was the Editor who forced Carney’s firing by running an Editorial when in fact the Manager fired Carney AFTER he made him appear at the budget hearing before the council so they could ask him question.

He stated he had “a very strong opinion” that people knew in April but didn’t say anything but offered absolutely no factual information to back that up!

He stated the women whose name was included for a new job in the Parking dept. and whose position had not been approved was most likely the person who “dropped the dime” on Mr. Carney but again gave no facts to back that up.

The comments that got me the most irate were these – He stated the Mayor and Manager received envelopes with letters much earlier than June about the missing money and covered it up! He made that charge and claimed a 2nd time that the Manager was informed ahead of time and John McDonough agreed that he had heard the same thing.

WHAT? Mr. Taupier charges the City Manager and Mayor with covering Up a Crime and neither the host nor producer challenged him to produce evidence that supports these charges?

I emailed and asked the City Manager, was he notified in April or May about missing money and did he withhold that information from the City Council? and he responded:

I never received notification, not even to this day. As I have stated publicly, I was notified by the Auditor who received an anonymous letter and was in the process of doing her job by checking on the allegations. That occurred in June, late in the day of the Tuesday budget meeting. I met with Chuck Carney that afternoon and did followup on Wednesday before turning the matter over to the Police on Thursday morning.

I asked him if the women whose name was on the budget list could have been the person who dropped the dime on Mr. Carney and he responded: That would be crazy since the anonymous letter blasts us for hiring that woman w/o a posting of the job

I also asked the Mayor if Mr. Taupier and Mr. McDonough were correct in saying the Mayor and Manager received notice before June and if Mr. Taupier was correct by saying the Mayor withheld the information from his fellow councilors and he replied:

No. And it’s irresponsible of both to repeat that.

So George I asked the Manager when he knew and he answered. I asked the Mayor if he knew before June and he answered.

That smell you keep referring to is the oder of people who dislike the Mayor and Manager and want to discredit them and slander them by making unfair accusations / statements without offering any real facts to back them up.

I don’t always agree with either the Manager or Mayor (read some previous blog post) and may attack and disagree with elected officials but I do so based on facts I can show or I state right up front that there are rumors floating around…Mr. Taupier didn’t do that, he made statements as if they were facts and common knowledge.

I am a big defender of the 1st amendment and freedom of speech but if I were the Manager and Mayor I would go to LTC and demand that this show, charging / accusing them of covering up a crime, be pulled and not repeated over the weekend or ever again.

No one should be accused of covering up a crime the way Mr. Taupier accused the Manager and Mayor without offering one bit of factual evidence to back up his charges and allowed that to be aired on a public television access show.

If he did that on a Private Radio / TV station he would open them up to a potential slander suit… maybe he already has?

In June at the Tech School Committee meeting Lowell member Erik Gitschier falsely accused Supt. Santoro of “over stepping” her boundaries in dealing with layoffs.

Yet on City Life on Thursday Gitschier stated he called former football coach Coach Kevin Callagy who quit after his feelings hurt and asked him to reconsider and return to coach football.

I don’t believe it is the role of a school committee to get involved with hiring nor is he supposed to get involved in criticising the make-up of the screening committee.

I asked a School Committee member NOT from Greater Lowell Tech if Gitschier’s actions were proper and they responded by saying ” Would it be my practice? Likely not. The law is pretty clear that committee members do not interfere in the day to day operations and have NO say/sway whatsoever over the hiring/firing of any employees in the District.”

Gitschier seemed to concentrate on the AD position rather than the main focus of the job which is the Dept. Head for Phys. Ed and the schools desire to change the focus to an overall health and wellness program that benefits ALL students instead of an athletic/sports focus that many students in High School don’t enjoy.

I thought it was about ALL the kids Erik not just the jocks who you seem to be focused on?

I asked Tech Committee Chairman Victor Olson to respond to some questions regarding other comments that Gitschier made on City life. Mr. G has used this program to attack the Supt. and his fellow committee members on several occasions. In addition to his attack on the Supt. and process he stated that Dunstable should not have a committee person, wonder how Mr. Dave Tulley would feel about that? No wonder he can’t get a motion passed!

Here are the questions and answers from Chairman Victor Olson

1) Has the Supt. been on vacation and does she notify the School Committee when she takes any vacation time?

It is not unusual for any superintendent to take vacation time in July. I as chair was aware she was on vacation. No formal written process is typically followed.

2) Mr. G indicated the Supt. review hs been delayed and last years was delayed and he hasn’t been informed of any process for this years review Is there a formal process?

New Educator Evaluation regulations are required to be implemented by September 2012; part of which includes Superintendent Evaluation. I spoke with “Superintendent Evaluation Sub-Committee Chair” at an early June meeting and found out that for the 2011-2012 evaluation we should follow the formal process in place to advance the process and that the subcommittee should meet to revise the evaluation process to be in line with new pending regulations after vote of school committee to adopt regulations for the next evaluation period. Evaluation forms will be handed out to all School Committee members

3) Mr. Gitschier stated he called former Coach Callgery and asked him to reconsider not applying, is that role a school committee member has?

It is not the role of a school committee member but as an individual as long as indicating not representing the board there is no harm although it can be misinterpreted. No promises should be given to anyone in that position.

4) He stated he emailed the Supt. about the AD/Coach and was told she was on vacation and got his questions answered by the Sun story yesterday…is that correct.?.he did read the Supt. letter to the committee

The committee received an e-mail on the hiring of the Phys Ed/ Athletic Director Hiring and then another e-mail the following day regarding the decision of football coach not to reapply for the position. The e-mail stated “If you have an interest in the facts regarding my conversation with Mr. Callagy please feel free to call me.” Mr. Glitchier probably would have had a quicker response had he called the Superintendent. I called late in the evening and received a return call the next morning.

GN NOTE: I called the Supt. and she told me “The email I sent asked the committee members to call if they had additional questions. Other members called…he did not. He insists on communicating via email even though I have made it quite clear the phone is a better way to reach me.

If he called Callagy himself…why did he need me to answer his questions?? His questions were: “Does every Coach have to re-apply for their Head Coaching Job every year?…and…”Did Coach Callagy give a reason why he did not come back to Greater Lowell?” If he had called me per my email he would not be surprised by anything he reads in the paper. I was going out of town nd clearly stated to call since I wouldn’t have easy email access, Again…HIS CHOICE!! I believe he chooses not to call me so he can continue to support his claim that I do not communicate effectively. Let’s see what my evaluation from him says about “communication”. Any bets??? So predictable…

5) Mr. G questioned the make up of the screening committee questioning why a school nurse,plant manager and Tech. director were involved when they didn’t have any background in Phys ED. Is is a School Committee members job to question the make up involved in hiring?

School Committee is responsible for hiring the Superintendent, treasurer and business manager. School Committee is NOT responsible for hiring any other in-house positions. The principal is responsible for the day to day operations and with the superintendent’s approval the hiring process.

I do believe that the school nurse was on the screening committee she would have knowledge and experience regarding head injuries and concussion policies to protect students. A veteran administrator who is the Director of Curriculum and Instruction and who ran the LPN program in the past was on the screening committee and certainly would have some expertise on the Health and Wellness goals of a physical education program. This process certainly minimizes the political influence. For a school committee member to intervene in this matter would be unethical.

Mr. Glitchier has made it publically clear he does not like the Superintendent and that he can’t do to her what he wants to do to her. I suspect that criticism from this source would come no matter what process was followed.

PRESS RELEASEPatrick Murphy announces new Mayoral Aide in City Hall

Lowell, MA –Mayor Murphy is pleased to announce the hiring of Jennifer Myers, a former reporter with the Sun of Lowell, as the mayor’s new aide.
Ms. Myers is a journalism graduate of Boston University and frequent presence at neighborhood and community events.

Having covered the City Council and School Committee and our wider community in more than a decade of reporting at the Sun, Ms. Myers brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to her new position. She has received numerous awards for her journalistic work and has been a leader in the use of new media to broaden and enhance relationships within the community.
Well-respected for her fairness and objectivity, Myers will undoubtedly help the mayor’s office better serve and communicate with diverse groups of residents.

“She is conscientious, hard-working and personable. She has a tremendous amount of talent and energy, and I expect that we will work well together to contribute positively to the progress of Lowell,” remarked Mayor Patrick Murphy. “She is a great fit for the job, and a strong successor to an exemplary aide.”

“I am honored to have been chosen by Mayor Murphy to fill this position,” said Myers. “I have built many strong relationships with government, school, neighborhood, cultural and business leaders over the years that will be an asset in assisting the Mayor in moving the city forward and making it the best place to live, work and play it can be. I am very excited about this new opportunity.”

Myers will fill the vacancy created by the departure of Army Captain Greg W. Page, who will pursue an MBA degree at the MIT Sloan School of Management this fall.

Page nevertheless expects to continue to contribute to the success of the Mayor’s office and remain voluntarily involved in various initiatives.

During his relatively short tenure as the Mayor’s Aide, Page worked tirelessly to establish important protocols and processes to greatly improve the organization and operation of the office. He established consistent communication between elected officials on the City Council, School Committee, and the State House delegation. He created a Mayor’s page on the city website, which he updated weekly in order to enhance the transparency of the office and the reporting of municipal news. Page also created and managed an active Twitter account for the Office of the Mayor and used the eGov notification system to great effect. Highly responsive to residents’ questions and concerns, Greg has been a pleasant and welcoming presence in City Hall.

In addition to his work in modernizing the Office of the Mayor, Page helped guide some of Mayor Murphy’s major initiatives. With Murphy, he produced the first-ever performance-based budget for the Office of the Mayor in the city’s FY2013 budget, with clear and measurable goals. He spearheaded the revival of the Sister Cities program, which aims at creating social, cultural and economic alliances with a network of cities throughout the world. He organized and contributed to discussions on how the office can assist in economic development efforts, and actively promoted the city and its events. In addition, he has advanced a number of educational and health programs that the Mayor hopes to unveil later this year, including a key partnership between the city’s two higher learning institutions and local non-profits. Most recently, Page began managing an innovative intern project aimed at educating residents about city ordinances and improving the workloads and workflow of fellow city employees.

Reflecting on his experience over the past several months, Page noted: “Working with Mayor Murphy and the City of Lowell has been a phenomenal experience. While I am leaving to pursue full-time studies, I remain enthusiastic in my support of Mayor Murphy’s initiatives and Lowell civic life in general. After putting so much work into the processes and protocols related to the office, I’m thrilled to be ‘handing the keys’ over to someone as talented as Jen. I have no doubt that she will take stock of everything going on in the office, and then raise the bar higher.”

For any questions about information contained in this press release, please contact Mayor Patrick Murphy at (978) 674-1551 or e-mail mayor@lowellma.gov.

(Update: Click over to Facebook and Read Rob Mills tribute to Jen and Thanks to Chris Camire for note on Jen with 1 N)

Hat’s off to Lowell Mayor Patrick Murphy who according to Ted Panos on WCAP will be replacing his current Aide Greg Paige with Jen Myers (now formerly of the Lowell Sun).

According to Greg Page, Jen will start next week and Greg being the all around nice guy and professional that he is will also stay around another week to assist in the transfer.

A great scoop for WCAP and a better pick up for the Mayor has he replaces one great aide with another!

The Sun Political Column deals mainly with the “tension”between the City Manager,City Council and License Commission.

It appears Mr. Bayliss and Mr. Weicker have little regard to the concerns of the Council other Downtown residents. Now it is up to the Police to bring the bars not regulating their own crowds to the Commission and lets see if these gentleman will react or has been the case, turn a blind eye to the issue.

Corey Belanger who just moved his bar downtown is by all accounts a responsible owner but his self interest and actions probably have killed any political future he had. The downtown neighborhood group will not forget his words and neither will the general public.

Ray Weicker may be a good Lawyer but attacking George Duncan for responding to a question the day after a riot in downtown shows he can be as dumb has the people he defends. Weicker hasn’t come close to contributing to Lowell the way Duncan has and his arrogance and self interest like Belanger probably is a reason he has never succeeded in politics.

Happy Birthday to my friend State Rep. Colleen Garry who joined me in turning 50 this week. My friend Debbie Grimshaw Kilbride also joined the 50 club this week.

Speaking of Rep.Garry, she will be getting a new aide by months end. Former Dracut School Committee member Mary Gail Martin will be working for the Rep. and brings a familiar face  with a knowledge and understanding of the district and will work well with the Dracut/Tyngsboro residents and elected officials.

No great surprise that Mayor Murphy didn’t appoint City Councilor Elliot to the Clerk/Auditor oversite subcommittee. The Mayor has made it clear he isn’t a fan nor does he respect Councilor Elliot regardless of his tenure on the Council.

Nice of the Sun to run an article on the Failure of their Resume Appeal after I ran the story on Friday. They also picked up my Tech School AD/Football Coach post and used it almost verbatim on their website on Friday. Making just enough changes to not have to credit their source (LOL) oh well imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!

Had a great vacation/birthday week and Thanks to all for the many birthday messages. Home Computer crashed Friday (my daughter is sharing her laptop with Dad)so comments will be approved when she isn’t using it.. back to work tomorrow..