Zoppo accused of "made up" stories by 'Fab 5' in 2005 letter

Click here for earlier blog post, with more detail, a copy of the letter and many comments

Here's the version that appeared in today's paper:
Just before the polls closed on Election Day two years ago, five city department heads wrote a scathing letter to the city’s personnel director claiming that city Councilor Ellen Zoppo had subjected them “to lies, misinformation, innuendos and made-up stories.”
“We believe that this has contributed to a very hostile work environment that should not have been tolerated by any city employee,” said the letter signed by Fire Chief Jon Pose, Comptroller Glenn Klocko, Park Director Ed Swicklas, Police Chief John DiVenere and Jonathan Rosenthal, the city’s economic development director.
Four of the five signers said Tuesday they have not had problems with Zoppo since 2005. The other, Pose, was the driving force behind the letter, said both Zoppo and Tom Bentivengo, the fire union president.
Bentivengo said there was “no substance behind the letter” and that Pose took a dislike to Zoppo because in her role as liaison to the Fire Board she insisted he follow proper procedures.
Zoppo, who is locked in a close mayoral primary with fellow Democratic city Councilor Art Ward, dismissed the letter as “a blatant attempt” by Ward’s backers to discredit her. Pose is one of Ward’s biggest backers, said Bentivengo, who supports Zoppo.
Both Zoppo and Ward, who said he had nothing to do with release of the letter, are vying for the support of the party’s rank and file in the Sept. 11 electoral showdown for the right to take on Republican Ken Johnson in the Nov. 6 general election.
The signers said in their letter that Zoppo, the Democratic Party’s mayoral nominee, had referred to them as the “Fab 5” or the “Fat 5” and “publicly stated that she is going to get us fired for various unwarranted reasons.”
“In addition, she has spread lies and misinformation to the employees who work for and with us,” the letter said.
Calling the situation “intolerable,” the five supervisors asked Personnel Director Diane Ferguson to do something to help.
It is unclear what, if anything, Ferguson did in response. She could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Rosenthal said the letter was “was not meant to be a political issue then or now” which is why it was sent after the 2005 campaign was over.
Klocko said Tuesday he signed the letter “slightly kicking and dragging” because he’d heard secondhand “from several different sources the same exact thing” about what Zoppo had been telling people.
“That had to cease,” Klocko said, so he agreed to take what he considered a serious step.
“It was a big misunderstanding at the time,” DiVenere said.
“Whatever issues there may have been have been resolved,” he said.
“I think there were some miscommunications and they’ve been resolved,” Rosenthal said. “I think it resulted in clarifications that were important and positive.”
Since the letter, Klocko said he has had “no issues with Councilwoman Zoppo” at all.
“She’s been cordial to me,” he said, and supported his reappointment.
DiVenere said that he has confidence in Zoppo now and that he has had no issues with her since the letter was sent in 2005. Rosenthal, too, said he’s had no problems with her.
Swicklas said, “I can tell you that our relationship now is very good.”
“The parks are moving along and we have established a good dialogue, working relationship and mutual respect. I have no concerns with Councilwoman Zoppo," Swicklas said.
Klocko said that when the five signed the letter, they were worried about retribution against them. That never happened, he said.
“There was no backlash to us,” Klocko said.
He said he suspects the letter “focused her attention” on the problem of talking harshly about city workers and probably helped resolve the situation.
Klocko said he feels “positive” about his relationship with Zoppo these days.
Klocko also said he doesn’t see the letter as meaning too much any longer.
“I dismiss it at this time because it’s the silly season,” Klocko said.
He said that from his point of view, he will work with “whoever the citizens to tell me to” when they vote in November.
Klocko said that he hopes that a decade from now “the Fab 5” can get together and chuckle over the letter they felt they had to write.
In their letter to Ferguson, the department heads said they expected that Zoppo, who won her third term as a councilor the same day they wrote their concerns, would not be assigned as the liaison to any of the boards or commissions overseeing them “because of her obvious hostility.”
They said in the letter that they wrote it “to follow up on numerous conversations and complaints that we have lodged with your office and with the mayor’s office over the past several months.”
“We thoroughly enjoy the work that we do for this city and try to conduct ourselves in a professional manner,” the five wrote. “We try to do our jobs to the best of our ability, but find the present situation unacceptable.”
A signed copy of the letter from the five department heads to Ferguson, and other related material, is available online at reporter Steve Collins’ Bristol Blog at http://bristolnews.blogspot.com.

Zoppo’s response
Why am I not surprised that this letter has surfaced three weeks before a primary?
This is a blatant attempt by supporters of Art Ward to discredit me before the primary. There would never be a letter from department heads complaining about Art Ward because he is not capable of holding them accountable, because he does not have a grasp of the issues to know how to hold them accountable. He is more concerned about being their buddy.
This is the same man who is afraid to debate me in public on the issues, but his supporters will dust off a complaint that was found to be without merit two years ago. This is clearly a desperate move by the Ward campaign to keep the focus off the issues and make it personal instead. If Art had the nerve to meet me face-to-face in a debate, we would not have to air these issues via the newspaper.
The city has a talented set of department heads with whom I have good working relationships, and who care about Bristol and do their jobs well. My concern for the taxpayer, and the safety of the line firefighters, as it related to Chief Pose's disregard for policy and procedures set us on a path to confrontation when I was on the Fire Board.
I expect that department heads adhere to a high standard because that is what leadership is all about. It is unfortunate that in Chief Pose's need to go after me, he involved other department heads. Chief Pose's complaint had no merit then, and still doesn't today.




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