Institutionalized Rumors.
By Jim Conley • Sep 19th, 2007 • Email This Post to a Friend •
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The TAB runs an editorial [read here] in tomorrow’s edition that calls for Gil Hoy to “come clean” on the circumstances surrounding his resignation as chair of the Brookline Board of Selectmen.
Maybe.
But suppose for a moment that reporters had not been told of some mysterious “contact” between Hoy and Boston Police from the lips of Town Administrator Richard Kelliher and Police Chief Daniel O’Leary. Hoy’s declaration that “personal reasons” are behind his departure from the chair would stand.
Indeed, Selectman Jesse Mermell (leaning on the wisdom of her 25 years) told the TAB that, “[Hoy's] letter speaks for itself.” That’s the right response. And it’s the one our $150 thousand per year managers ought to have made.
Folks, O’Leary and Kelliher are responsible, above all, to the public trust. And part of that trust is knowing that when a whisper is given the patina of official investigation it becomes a damning shout. The fact remains that there are no records, no reports and no filings that support, even at a minimum, O’Leary’s representation of “contact”.
An explanation is called for alright, and it’d be nice if one came from Hoy. But a politicized police force (as is the case in Brookline) presents a larger peril than anything Gil Hoy might do as one of five voting Selectmen.
Update: Don’t get me wrong, there is no chance that we’ll find out who authorized the Chief to perform his cross-jurisdictional investigation. There is no chance, under this Board of Selectmen, that an explanation concerning the statements made by Kelliher will be proffered. This Board doesn’t do oversight of the town administration. They view their job as boosting the morale of town managers, no matter the circumstances.
And I’d be willing to bet this - if a lower pay grade employee said and did the things O’Leary and Kelliher said and did, we’d be hearing a lot of explanation out of town hall.
Jim Conley is publisher of On Brookline.
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Transparency in Brookline governance should be provided by the trinity of:
1. The Open Meeting Law
2. The Public Records Laws
3. The Whistleblower Statute (although we don’t hear it)
but not by gossip and rumor, especially when the gossip and rumor is anonymously spread by Brookline political insiders.
Brookline is becoming more and more like a small North or South Shore town with political inbreeding, with political insiders working on their profit (not non-profit) centers.
And looking at today’s TAB with pages and pages of warrant article notices, can we expect our unpaid TMMs to actually read, and more importantly understand, all of the warrant articles plus the reports of the BOS, Advisory Board, etc? Just look at the zoning warrants and look at the history of voluminous zoning amendments to the Zoning Bylaw over the past 20 years or so. Perhaps a quiz would be appropriate to test the extent to which our TMMs will have absorbed a thick packet of materials before they vote on these warrant articles.
With all the privacy laws in place, both state and federal, was the Chief able to obtain information that an ordinary inquirer might not be able to obtain from the Boston Police? I wonder what was the chit-chat between the Chief and his Boston Police Department contact? Does the Chief have similar chit-chats from time to time concerning other Brookline Police Commissioners (past and present) wih Boston and other police departments? For badge flashing or otherwise?
Back in the days before the Federal FOIA, America’s top cop J. Edgar Hoover (FBI) kept dossiers on politicians of all ilks to provide him leverage in his dealings with Congress, Presidents, etc. These dossiers were disclosed as a result of the FOIA many years later; of course, it was not only these dossiers that came out of the closet.
Massachusetts has since enacted public records laws, although not as vigorously complied with or enforced as at the Federal level (at least until Pres. George W. Bush). Both statutes have a number of exemptions, including for investigative reports. So perhaps there are J. Edgar Hoover type dossiers in Brookline, unless handled by unrecorded voices, winks, nods, etc. But Brookline officials who may be holding these dossiers should keep in mind that J. Edgar Hoover’s dossiers did eventually see the light of day.
We need less winking and nodding and more whistleblowing.
With Gil Hoy staying on as a Selectman, his votes on certain matters coming before the Board may have to be examined with scrutiny. Recall the technique of America’s former top cop J. Edgar Hoover in dealing with Congressmen and Presidents when FBI funding, etc, might be in issue.