APPEAL TO PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST 9:27 pm June 25, 2019

1,360,312 @ 5:25 am  June 26

Public Records Division

Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth
One Ashburton Place - Room 1710
Boston, MA 02108
Phone: 617-878-3660
Fax: 617-723-1372

TO: Public Records Division

On June 25, 2019 @ 4:27 pm I received a response to my request of June 12, 2019, once again seeking transparency on the public access television station that the officials in the city of Medford seem to utilize more than the citizens and ratepayers who fund it.

The reply was "After a comprehensive search...are not in possession of any documents that relate to this request."

If it sounds like an echo  of a previous public records request response, it is.

This appeal I will write differently than previous appeals as the subterfuge that the law office in Medford utilizes is extremely tricky.

This is of great public interest. 

In essence, the city of Medford allegedly has rules in place that are not in physical form.  Keep in mind that I caught the mayor's "Chapter 74 board" (in regards to access television)  violating the Open Meeting Law.     Mayor Burke is the Chairperson of the School Committee https://www.medfordpublicschools.org/about/central-administration/school-committee/ so their failure to adhere to the Open Meeting Law is as dishonest as their failure to document their policies, if, indeed, they have no documents but have policies in place.

My June 12, 2019 request is below.  Attorney Scanlon's response is attached.  What the city of Medford now appears to engage in is some kind of sleight of hand in order to evade the document request.   I'll be blunt and say it appears to have the fingerprints of Mark E. Rumley, City Solicitor, rather than the people in his office, who are excellent, professional and who, sadly, have to work for an individual who is part of an old school highly corrupt political system.  I can prove that,,,and have on many occasion.  

What I seek are the documents where Mayor Stephanie Muccini Burke allegedly plans to squelch free speech at election time.

What I asked for, and did not receive, are these documents:

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1)All correspondence between the law office and the mayor, Stephanie Muccini-Burke, regarding limiting speech in Medford - these specifics include but are not limited to

a)documents, memos, e mails, texts regarding an embargo on political speech for six weeks prior to the

November 5, 2019 election

b)Solicitor Mark E. Rumley's alleged new waiver for the CORI document - where is it?; it was supposed to be updated a year or two ago, but the city lawyer intentionally and flagrantly violates his oath of office by dragging his feet on promises - (i.e. the promised MCC TV3 board election in 2009; the demand for financial records in 2013, the CORI waiver that doesn't make an access TV producer look like a child molester, which Rumley's current Waiver does, etc.)

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The CORI waiver was supposed to be updated.  Not updating it is a serious violation of Mr. Rumley's oath of office to uphold the Constitution and to be IMPARTIAL.

It appears that I have to be a mind reader to articulate EXACTLY the magic words to get the documents that certainly must exist.

To be extremely clear: 

1a)Purportedly Medford Community Media, the public access television channel, is telling membership that they cannot engage in political speech six weeks out from the November 5, 2019 election.   

1b)Mr. Rumley concocted a CORI check, ostensibly so that Mayor Burke could spy on politicians who want to have their own political program.

In my opinion it is a violation of a lawyer's oath of office, fracturing "impartiality" and the need to uphold the Constitution of the United States.

THESE ARE ISSUES OF GREAT PUBLIC INTEREST AS CITY HALL MEDFORD IS, AGAIN, MESSING WITH AN ELECTION.

IT IS SO UN-AMERICAN, IT IS SO WRONG.   THESE DOCUMENTS, OR THE CREATION OF DOCUMENTS WHEN CITY HALL

HAS INVISIBLE RULES IN PLACE TO BENEFIT THE INCUMBENTS, ARE ESSENTIAL AND THE PUBLIC DESERVES TO SEE THEM.

How can there be a rule of no political speech six weeks prior to an election and no such document?

How can the city law office not even have the original CORI waiver when I have a copy (see Exhibit A, below)

Side note: A fellow saw me last week, comes over to me and whispers in my ear "I love everything you do(for the city of Medford.)  There

was a witness to this event.  This investment of my time and the time of the Public Records Division is key and you have my thanks for your

excellent work in this regard.

MY DOCUMENT REQUESTS:

For 1a) there should be some kind of rule on the TV channel website declaring any political censorship, any squelching of free speech.

This was brought to my attention by a very good source, so why the anxiety when we file a public records request?

It is as if city hall is using smoke signals and sign language in order to keep rules and regulations in space and not in written form.  It is chilling.

For 1b) Solicitor Rumley specifically told me, on television, at a meeting of the Cable Advisory Committee, that the CORI waiver is "in flux."

If you look at the entire tape and see my speech and Rumley's response you can see that Solicitor Rumley was being a bully, mean-spirited and

unprofessional.  When I accuse him of being that way with these public records responses, know that I have evidence that that is Rumley's nature.

That we have that on tape should indicate to the Public Records Division what kind of individual we are dealing with at the law office in Medford.

Exhibit A, noted below, IS the original CORI waiver that city hall  should have given as a reply.

I AM SEEKING THE REVISED CORI WAIVER the city lawyer said was "in flux."  Mr. Rumley failed to do his job when he was on the board of

MCC TV3 (I am the individual in the city that led the charge to shut them down, and succeeded) - Rumley continues to fail to hand over documents,

or even worse, refuses to put things in writing knowing that I will file a public records request and ask for these rules Rumley expects 60,000 or more people to follow.

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Now the CORI waiver. 

Mr. Rumley doesn't trust the $65,000.00 or so salaried station manager to supervise the facility.  The law requires a CORI when there is unsupervised contact with children.   When I noted this at a meeting of the city council or in another venue, Rumley quickly did an about face and said "the possibility of unsupervised contact with children."  Rumley's fixation on children with these remarks is something he can deal with on his own, we are putting it on public record that the only solicitor in the Commonwealth who seems to have a problem with children is the Medford City Solicitor - every other access TV station trusts their board of directors and employees to supervise properly.  Given Medford's ugly history, and the fact that Rumley was a board member of the eradicated former 501c3 chock full of bullies and harassers, just shows that the policies we the public got rid of are back with a vengeance.

I am cc:ing Rep Paul Donato and Susan Crowley in his office.   When a program that Mr. Donato wanted to air years ago was censored he was outraged saying to the local newspaper: “This is free speech. It’s the public’s right to listen to political speech. It’s the most protected right. I was just flabbergasted.”

Interesting that Mr. Donato didn't add that it is also the public's right to speak up. Or perhaps my old friend Paul wants to be the only one speaking.

Mr. Donato, who in 2007 wrote this in an Op Ed "Bullying in schools is a problem that has negative effects on school environment and on student’s ability to learn in a safe atmosphere without fear. " January 29, 2007  was bullied and witnessed much bullying by the former 501c3 that was operating the TV station.  The station called Mr. Donato a vulgarity, "Pauly (expletive) pants" 

The documents I seek are about (and to address for the public)  this pervasive censorship in Medford dating back to at least 2002, possibly earlier. 

Mayor Burke, and especially city lawyer Rumley, put stumbling blocks to free speech so that the mayor in power can control the message. 

Apologies for the lengthy e mail but time and again Medford City Hall fails to be transparent and it is regrettable.

Citizens want to see all documents pertaining to the public access station's rules and regulations published on the website.

Citizens want to eradicate the invasive CORI demand by a city lawyer who repeatedly failed to rein in his friends and colleagues on the 

now shuttered MCC TV3 board.   My position is that it is a severe conflict of interest for Mr. Rumley to interfere in public access television given his poor

history of protecting the asset for the people of Medford, and given his fixation on fracturing the First Amendment, and by extension, his oath of 

office.  It would be refreshing if the city lawyer would step down or be legally removed.  Then I wouldn't have to spend so much time on appeals.

Thank you, Public Records Division, for your past assistance

Respectfully,

Joe Viglione  

P.O. Box 2392

Woburn MA 01888 

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ANY CITIZEN SIGNING RUMLEY'S RUBBISH WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO GET HIRED.

YOU BASICALLY HAVE TO ADMIT YOU WANT NO CONTACT WITH CHILDREN

GO FOR A JOB INTERVIEW WITH THAT ONE HANGING AROUND YOUR NECK!

NOW YOU MUST BE THINKING "RUMLEY WILL BURN IN HELL FOR ALL ETERNITY."

TRUST US, RUMLEY IS ALREADY THERE.

EXHIBIT A

Medford Community Media
Waiver of Requirement for Criminal Offender Record Information

In consideration of the agreement of the undersigned to refrain completely in his capacity as a  Producer (defined below) from entering upon the Medford High School premiseslocated at 489 Winthrop 
Street, Medford, Massachusetts (the "Premises"), which are utilized by Medford Community Media ("MCM")as its principal place of business, thereby eliminating any possibility that the undersigned will 
have direct and unmonitored contact with children, MCM hereby waives the requirement set forth in  Paragraph 5 of the Producer Agreement and Indemnification Form required to be completed by each 
person, organization or other entity (the "Producer")that requests that MCM carry its programming (the 
"Producer Agreement").   

Paragraph 5 of the Producer Agreement requires as a condition to the Producer  participating in public access offered by MCM that the Producerpermit and consent to the City of  Medford conducting a criminal background check with respect to the Producer. The undersigned 
Producer agrees that all programming submitted to MCM by the Producer shall be submitted utilizing the  United States Postal Service, any nationally recognized overnight courier service or anyother third party 
delivery service, but under no circumstances shall the Producer be permitted to enter the Premises for any  purpose whatsoever, including without limitation the submission by the Producer of proposed 
programming to MCM. The Producer further agrees that while this Waiver is in effect the Producer shall  not be permitted to enter the Premises for the purpose of removing any equipment from the MCM facility 
as provided in Paragraph 8 of the Producer Agreement. While this Waiver is in effect the undersigned  shall, however, be permitted to enter Medford High School as a visitor in accordance with all of the 
requirements of Medford High School that are applicable to visitors. Such right of access shall not  include that portion of the Premises occupied by MCM. The Producer shall be entitled at anytime to 
terminate this Waiver through the execution and provision to MCM of the Criminal Offender Record  Information Acknowledgement Form required by the Medford Public Schools, and subject only to the
results of any such criminal offender record information search, the Producer shall thereafter be permitted  to enter upon the Premisesin his capacity as a Producer. 

Signed as a sealed instrument this ____ day of October, 2017.
    MEDFORD COMMUNITY MEDIA
    By____________________________ 
    Ben Brown, Station Manager 
I hereby agree to the foregoing: