Leader Herald Contesting
City’s Statement of No Wrongdoing
By Lorenzo Recupero
The mayor and a city commission he heads have denied any wrongdoing in a July incident this year when the mayor ordered Leader Herald Publisher Josh Resnek to leave a session covered by the open meeting law in his conference room next to his office at city hall.
An attorney for the mayor, Janelle Austin, denied all claims of wrongdoing itemized by Resnek to the Attorney General’s office regarding the incident.
Resnek claims the mayor ended the meeting abruptly, stared at him and ordered him to leave and then said:” Now we’re going to have a private conversation.” Resnek alleges the city purchasing agent followed Resnek to the door. He walked out of the conference room with everyone there watching. He slammed it shut.
Resnek further claims that the so-called private meeting was directly about city business, which is not allowed under the rules of the Open Meeting Law after the previous session was ended abruptly with no motion and vote.
“I know what was talked about after he threw me out,” Resnek said. “I can prove and will prove what exactly the mayor directed his purchasing agent to do after I was tossed out. What he said is fact, not fantasy, What he talked about was city business” said Resnek. “I can prove it.”
In their denial of wrong doing the city told the Attorney General’s office that nothing what so ever happened that was out of line at that July meeting.
“They think that its case closed. But it isn’t,” said Resnek. “This is something the Leader Herald is pursuing on principal. We are not making up a story. There are simply too many people who witnessed the incident exactly as the Leader Herald has detailed it. The incident was real and it happened. We are preparing our response to the city’s denial to the Attorney General,”he said.