State probes 'scripted' meetings

The state is investigating whether Democratic mayoral nominee Ellen Zoppo and other city leaders conspired in secret to orchestrate the outcome of public votes and meetings.
Following up on a complaint by Bristol resident Jay Meisinger, the state’s Freedom of Information Commission is looking into charges that Mayor William Stortz, Zoppo and other city councilors violated state open government laws by scripting municipal meetings ahead of time on at least two occasions, including a key session in the creation of the new downtown corporation.
In the complaint, Meisinger argues that because of the open government violation, the council’s establishment of the Bristol Downtown Development Corp. and all of the nonprofit’s subsequent actions “might be null and void.”
Should the commission agree, it could throw into turmoil the city’s efforts to revitalize the 17-acre mall site, which the nonprofit corporation is assigned to oversee.
Many officials and residents raised questions after The Bristol Press revealed in June that Zoppo had prepared a “script” for the Jan. 4 city session that put the council's stamp of approval on the new corporation, as well as a 2005 session that endorsed a controversial new housing code.
Zoppo said Friday the complaint lacks merit and she is confident the city will prevail in the case.
She said the papers she prepared for the sessions are more like "talking points" or guidelines than scripts – the word she used to describe them at the time that she now says was “an extremely poor word choice.”
Zoppo said she “was tracking concerns of both the public and the members of the council as the public hearings” on the downtown corporation progressed “so that nothing would fall through the cracks.” She said she did not orchestrate an outcome to any meeting.
The scripted meetings, which were largely prepared by Zoppo, highlight the need for a radical overhaul at City Hall, Republican mayoral hopeful Ken Johnson said.
Johnson called it “the height of hypocrisy” and contemptuous of the public for Zoppo to
write a script advocating public input when “the outcome, the actual vote, was predetermined.”
“This completely flies in the face” of the whole notion of open government and public debate on important issues, Johnson said.
City Councilor Art Ward, who is taking on Zoppo in the Democratic mayoral primary, called Zoppo “the prime defendant” in the case and again expressed concern that she told Stortz and other officials to make sure he didn’t know about the script during the meeting.
In an email to Stortz before the meeting, Zoppo wrote that “Art will not have a script” and urged city Councilor Mike Rimcoski to “be discreet since he is seated adjacent to” Ward.
“All scripts need to be collected at the end of the night so there are no leaks,” she added.
Ward said he’s still unhappy about her effort to exclude him.
“It definitely, definitely was totally unprofessional,” Ward said.
Johnson said the complaint could “completely unravel the downtown commission” and “roll back the clock six months.”
“At the thought of that, frankly, I’m disgusted,” Johnson said.
“When Ken Johnson is mayor, this is not the way that I will run a city,” he said.
The city attorney, Edward Krawiecki, Jr, said the case is “a contested matter so I don’t think we can actually discuss it at the moment.”
He said he could not offer an opinion on whether the complaint has any merit.
The Freedom of Information Commission plans to schedule a hearing on the issue, according to an Aug. 6 letter to the city from Petrea Jones, its acting clerk. It has also assigned the case to an ombudsman, Thomas Hennick, to try to work out a settlement ahead of time.
For more information on the issue, including copies of the scripts, emails and Meisinger’s FOI complaint, check out the Bristol Blog at http://bristolnews.blogspot.com.
Collins covers Bristol government and politics and related agencies. Contact him at scollins@bristolpress.com or 584-0504 ext. 254.

For background, check out these earlier Bristol Blog posts:

Is Ward behind the FOI complaint? (Aug. 10, 2007)

Mocabee speaks out on FOI complaint (Aug. 10, 2007)

FOI complaint lodged against Zoppo, Stortz, city (Aug. 10, 2007, includes text of FOI complaint)

Council hopeful Rich Kilby weighs in on script controversy (June 10, 2007)

McCauley defends Zoppo (June 8, 2007)

Zoppo stands by scripted meetings (June 6, 2007)

What do you think about scripting city meetings? (June 5, 2007)

Scripting city meetings (June 5, 2007, includes the script used for the January meeting)

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Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com