FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ATTORNEY GENERAL AGAIN FINDS FOR JOE VIGLIONE
TWO OPEN MEETING LAW COMPLAINTS
TWO FINDINGS IN FAVOR OF VIGLIONE
Enclosed please find 3 pages from the Office of the Attorney General that a commission of the city of Medford again violated the open meeting law. Please read them carefully. Open Meeting Law violations in Medford are the RULE and not the exception - and it is my belief that - allegedly - many violations of the OML have gone by the board, past the statute of limitations, without the offenders being called out for their conduct.
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I am a citizen in Medford who helps local residents with access TV issues, who files public records requests, open meeting law violation complaints, utilizes the tools available to help my fellow citizens.
City Hall Medford, and the former Medford Community Cablevision, Inc., by their censorship policies, I believe have caused widespread and significant harm to multiple customers of Comcast and Verizon in Medford.
Widespread and significant harm to citizens who want to speak at the city council without being interrupted by a gavel, inappropriate "point of information" interruptions designed to throw speakers off balance, and other flagrant abuses.
The goal this citizen presents to the public is to shine a light on wrongful conduct in city government. Even the solicitor, Mr. Rumley, acknowledged years ago that my efforts were on behalf of the public.
OPEN MEETING LAW VIOLATIONS IN MEDFORD
It is an epidemic. Cheryl Rodriguez filed a complaint on the Zoning board which the AGO upheld; then I found that the Chapter 74 Board (which allegedly played with the $650,000.00 or so that this writer saved the city by working to have former Mayor McGlynn shut down MCC TV3) violated the open meeting law (for well over a year, so the public couldn't watch how our TV subscriber/ratepayer franchise fees were spent...allegedly!)
Now comes the determination that the Medford Disabilities Commission violated the open meeting law when it refused to allow me to tape the meeting with FACEBOOK LIVE. Citizens appreciate my popular Facebook live tapings of the Green Energy Commission, the Cemetery Commission, Room 207 Committee of the Whole, the taping of Bill Blumenreich in room 207 vis-a-vis the Wilbur Theater meets the Chevalier Theater, etc. etc. etc. My Medford blog, a registered business in the city of Medford, has 1,132,319 page views as of 3:28 PM today.
That's One Million, One Hundred Thirty-Two Thousand, Three Hundred and Nineteen page views to benefit the citizens of Medford under what we call the "McGlynn Media Blackout" which, of course, continues under the Mayor Muccini-Burke Media Blackout.
Council President Rick Caraviello called the police on this reporter March 28, 2017 because he didn't want Facebook live in the council chambers. Caraviello also filed a criminal complaint on this reporter of "witness intimidation" which was dismissed January 31, 2017. These are the censorship tactics that the city of Medford employs because it wants no sunshine, no transparency, no public access TV.
A few weeks ago Caraviello interrupted a meeting to say "Are you recording Facebook live?" My response: "No, Rick, I'm taking snapshots."
Can you believe this in a free society? The Mayor's Chief of Staff, former Council President Maiocco, Police Chief Sacco, even Mayor Burke, all allow me to tape Facebook Live. They may not like me, but they know the law.
Obviously, Council President Richard F. Caraviello thinks he knows better than the Chief, the former council president, and the mayor.
Caraviello wants all Facebook Live tapings to the left of the reporter's desk. So much for keeping the citizens informed.
City Solicitor Mark E. Rumley installed a "CORI CHECK" at the public access station, ostensibly so Mayor Burke could spy on candidates who want to run for elected office.
Have you ever HEARD of a candidate having to pass a CORI check to get on Access TV so that - purportedly - Mayor Burke can look into their background prior to their producing a television program? Vladmir Putin is blushing with envy! Actually, even Vladmir's appalled by Mrs. Burke's phony abuse of access TV producers.
Mayor Burke liberally used the phony access station with her new scarecrow from Brookline's media center, Ben Brown (paid $67,500.00 a year
to run public service announcements without doing proper outreach or facilitating Medford programming.
NO CANDIDATES were allowed on access TV prior to the September primary election. Is this Havana or the U.S. of A?
Now do the simple math - if Burlington High School and Wakefield High School and Woburn High School do not require 3 or 4 pages of Rumley mumbo jumbo to play your program, and if Ben Brown is paid over 67K to keep an eye on the cable station, why is a CORI check required?
By Mr. Rumley's standard, Bill Blumenreich at the Chevalier Theater would need a CORI check on every patron and employee attending an event that is in a building that houses the Boys & Girls Club on Forest Street.
Pure censorship in Medford.
When Mr. Rumley isn't engaging in histrionics with councilor Michael Marks yelling for Marks to "bring it on" and embarrassing himself at the council, he wastes citizens' funds by being disrespectful to a former mayoral candidate or throwing mud at a reporter in Donald Trump fashion:
Sent: Thursday, October 26, 2017 12:48 PM
In my opinion your “complaint" is simply the latest installment of an incessant rant.
You attended and participated at City Council meeting of October 3, 2017.
Neither your attendance nor your participation were improperly limited by the Council.
Very truly yours,
Mark Rumley
City Solicitor
A judge In Somerville District Court removed Mr. Rumley from a witness stand when I objected to Rumley's mud slinging (September 1, 2016) and the Attorney General's office has found in my favor twice now regarding Open Meeting Law violations.
The mud-slinging does not work for Donald Trump; nor does it work for Mark Rumley
Here's the AGO's findings received in today's mail.
Let's all work together to make Medford a better place to live
Enclosed are the three pages I received today from the office of the Attorney General finding in my favor.
Respectfully,
Joe Viglione
Joe Viglione
