According to a letter dated January 11, 2008, Assistant Northwestern DA Pepyne has ruled that there is no evidence that Northampton Ward Three City Councilor Robert Reckman is guilty of serving as an, "intermediary for communication amongst city council members outside of properly posted meetings" because at the time Reckman was not yet sworn in and was a private citizen. Pepyne offers no further explanation and does not reveal the scope of her investigation. Her ruling is subject to appeal to Massachusetts Attorney General, Martha Coakley. I and nine other complainants, Amy Bookbinder, Paige Bridgens, Adam Cohen, Ray LaBarge, Mary Likins, Paolo Mastrangelo, Ken Mitchell, Kathy Silva, and Gene Tacy, are considering this action.
Pepyne did add in her letter to Reckman that, "After you are sworn into the City council, however, e-mail communications amongst a quorum of members of the Council, even if conducted in serial fashion, will constitute a violation of the Open Meeting Law and subject the Council to enforcement proceedings."
Assistant DA Pepyne gestures during Open Meeting Law primer
The full list of recipients of the leaked Reckman email as posted below includes At-large City Councilor Michael Bardsley along with, Joel Russell, Mari Gottdeiner, Betsy Siersma, Michael Kusek, Mary Kasper, David Kutcher, Fran Volkmann, Deb Jacobs, and John Sinton. Clearly, Reckman received information from five members of the council and he relayed that information to council member, Michael Bardsley.
Pepyne apparently believes, however, that this does not constitute Reckman acting as an agent between persons. As I’ve written here before, I think the leaked email speaks for itself and disagree with Pepyne’s decision. In my view, the judicial branch of government has failed to adequately serve as a check and balance on the legislative branch.
I am sorry to hear that Mary has the flu. I have heard from 5 members of the Council that they support eliminating the requirement that people who serve on the best practices committee not currently serve on any City Board or Commissions. I did not hear from Marilyn or Jim Dostal and did not contact Ray Labarge. I believe that David Narkewicz has arranged for Marianne Labarge to propose the change we would like to see. I am not worried about its approval and plan to watch the meeting on TV from the comfort of my home.
Thanks;
Bob ReckmanConstruction and Design
